San Miguel Beer shrugged off a tough stand from a Robert Bolick-less NLEX, 120-103 , to assure itself of the top seed at the end of the eliminations in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Sunday, April 28.

The Beermen remained waxing hot from the field and seized control of the contest in the first half and never looked from there to list their ninth win in as many games in the conference.

SMB, even in the event that it loses its last two games, will be taking the top seed and the coveted twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals while sending NLEX to its third-l straight defeat.

The Road Warriors fell into a three-way logjam for the third spot of the standings along with the TNT Tropang Giga and Magnolia Hotshots with the same 5-4 slates. 

The three teams remain in contention for the second seed but Barangay Ginebra, which totes a 7-3 record, has the inside track for the quarterfinals bonus.

SMB flaunted its depth with six players scoring in double-figure led by the usual suspects in CJ Perez and June Mar Fajardo.

Perez hardly cooled down with 30 points and nine rebounds while Fajardo returned to his double-double ways with a dominant 20-point and 21-rebound performance. Marcio Lassiter continued to climb up the all-time three-point leader, draining four triples to finish with 14 points apart from seven rebounds.

Don Trollano had 14 points while Jericho Cruz and Terrence Romeo provided support with 15 points apiece off the bench.

Despite the absence of their leading scorer in Bolick, the Road Warriors fought hard and battled back from double-digit deficits several times in the first half . They came as close as three points, 41-44, late in the second quarter but back-to-back treys from Simon Enciso restored a nine-point advantage.

The Beermen kept the Road Warriors at bay from there as they protected a double-digit barrier in the entire second half. The closest NLEX could get was eight but timely hits from Perez, Fajardo and Romeo were simply too much to bear for the Road Warriors.

Rookies Enoch Valdez and John Nermal tried to pick up the cudgels in the absence of Bolick who had to attend his wife who had recently given birth to his first born child. Valdez finished with 18 points while Nermal added 16 in a losing effort for NLEX.