Devon Scott and San Miguel Beer showed the door to TNT with a blowout 119-99 victory in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Saturday, Nov. 26.
Scott unloaded 18 of his 28 points in the first half apart from his 14 rebounds and four steals to help the Beermen breeze through the lowly Tropang Giga who missed the playoffs for the first time under head coach Chot Reyes.
It was also a total show of force for SMB as six other players reached double figures with Vic Manuel and Simon Enciso providing support with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Marcio Lassiter added 12 points built on four triples while CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz also chipped in 14 and 12. June Mar Fajardo also didn’t look like he missed a couple of weeks due to a throat injury, posting a double-double performance of 12 points and 13 rebounds in his second game back.
The win further boosted SMB’s bid to avoid the seventh and eighth spots of the standings as it improved to a 6-5 record while TNT will be missing the playoffs for the first time in four years.
SMB actually started the game slow after trailing early on 7-2 but once the Beermen got their engine going, there was no looking back.
The Beermen unleashed a huge 17-5 finishing kick in the opening frame which practically set the tone for the romp after establishing a 28-15 lead. Another 10-0 spurt midway through the second frame allowed the Beermen to establish a 23-point advantage 58-35 – a barrier that proved to be too hard to break as the Tropang Giga visibly struggled with the absence of Jayson Castro and JP Erram.
TNT never really threatened from there as SMB’s lead ballooned to as many as 28 points, 68-40, early in the second half before comfortably cruising to the victory that also snapped Reyes’ 24-straight playoff appearance which started way back in the Commissioner’s Cup in 2001.
Matt Mobley after a rousing debut last time out only mustered 18 points on top of seven rebounds and seven assists while RR Pogoy stepped up with 23 points. Kelly Williams also added 18 points while Jaydee Tungcab chipped in 12 as TNT exited the conference with a 4-8 record.