Terrence Romeo and June Mar Fajardo led San Miguel Beer’s masterful display over Converge, 120-107, to complete a sweep of their quarterfinals series in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Saturday, Dec. 10.
In what seemed to be a recurring theme in the series, the Beermen were able to build a sizeable margin in the first three quarters before needing some timely baskets in the fourth quarter to douse a last-ditch FiberXers rally.
Romeo put up his best scoring performance since his return, unloading 22 points on a 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc while Fajardo flirted with a triple-double of 18 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists – forming a potent inside-outside threat for the de facto defending champions.
Devon Scott provided a steady presence with 20 points and 14 rebounds while Simon Enciso added 16 points built on four treys – including the last one he drilled that ended an SMB scoring drought and shoved its lead back to double digits after being cut down to just with 2:58 to go.
With the win the Beermen set up a marquee duel with the mighty Bay Area Dragons in the best-of-five semifinals.
Romeo set the tone in the rout, nailing three straight triples in the second quarter to spearhead a scoring run that established a 17-point advantage at the break, 61-44.
The flamboyant guard, who seemed to have finally got his confidence and feistiness back on the court, continued to be on a tear at the start of the second half, helping his team stretch the lead to its biggest at 24 after his booming triple.
Refusing to go down without a fight, however, were the FiberXers who slowly chopped the lead down in the payoff period behind the efforts of import Quincy Miller.
Converge embarked on a huge 20-3 run to come within eight, 109-101, after a back-to-back Miller layup and dunk. That was when Enciso stopped the bleeding with a triple before the rest of the Beermen came back to their senses with Fajardo and CJ Perez putting on the finishing touches to the dominant sweep.
Miller made a lasting impression in his final game, posting 24 points and seven rebounds while Jeron Teng topscored his team with 25.
That, however, were not enough as Converge, which rode its impeccable three-point shooting that resulted to a seven-game win streak in the elimination, struggled to find the mark from distance which ultimately spelled doom to the initially promising campaign under rookie coach Aldin Ayo.