It seemed like Jordan Adams took it upon himself to prove that he was the right man for the job.

Adams announced his return and made a resounding statement with a 49-point explosion to lead San Miguel to a 139-127 victory over Phoenix in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Sept. 13.

After being reduced to spectator in the last game to give way to his supposed replacement in Sheldon Mac, Adams came out firing from all cylinders as the Beermen shook off the pesky Fuel Masters to improve to a 5-2 record.

Adams went perfect in all of his two attempts from the four-point territory and also drilled four triples to go with his 11 rebounds and two steals as the SMB got the much-needed warmup before its marquee rematch against Barangay Ginebra on Sunday, Sept. 15.

CJ Perez added 23 points while June Mar Fajardo added a double-double performance of 22 points and 11 rebounds. The eight-time Most Valuable Player shot a perfect 10-of-10 from the field – a feat that has only been done seven times in league history.

The history-chasing Marcio Lassiter, meanwhile, fired five triples to finish with 16 points but more importantly moved three triples away to surpass Jimmy Alapag as the all-time three-point leader.

Phoenix import Brandone Francis tried to provide the answer to Adam’s onslaught point for point with his 48 but was just not enough against the firepower of the Beermen. 

Still, the contest was the highest scoring affair over the last two seasons or since the showdown between NLEX and Terrafirma resulted in a 142-125 decision in the 2023 Governors’ Cup.

For one, the Fuel Masters actually managed to keep in step with the Beermen, 85-76, before SMB, behind Adams, Perez and Fajardo, steadily padded the lead until it reached the largest at 20, 108-88.

Jason Perkins added 18 points in a losing effort as Phoenix remained winless through seven games.