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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Fajardo-less SMB shakes off pesky Macau to open Govs' Cup in style

Fajardo-less SMB shakes off pesky Macau to open Govs' Cup in style

Published Jul 14, 2026 10:00 pm

At A Glance

  • Playing without reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo and head coach Leo Austria, the Beermen weathered a tough challenge from the Giant Pandas through the first three quarters before breaking the game wide open with a decisive finishing kick.

San Miguel Beer unloaded a blistering fourth-quarter rally to pull away from a gritty Macau side, hacking out a 123-109 victory to kick off its PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup campaign on a good note at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Tuesday, July 14.

Playing without reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo and head coach Leo Austria, the Beermen weathered a tough challenge from the Giant Pandas through the first three quarters before breaking the game wide open with a decisive finishing kick.

Up only by three, 89-86, heading into the payoff period, SMB tore the game wide openg with a 25-10 run behind import George King, stretching the advantage to 114-96 and putting the contest beyond Macau's reach.

King announced his PBA return with 30 points, five rebounds and seven assists while CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz finished with 21 and 20 points, respectively.

Rodney Brondial held the fort in Fajardo’s absence with a career-high 25 rebounds to go with 10 points, seven assists, four steals and a block. Jerrick Ahanmisi also had a solid debut with 16 points, while Don Trollano and Mo Tautuaa had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Devontre Perry had 25 points and 23 rebounds for the Giant Pandas, who led by as many as 11 in the first half. Macau, however, just couldn’t keep its hold of the lead especially against the firepower of SMB.

Damien Chongqui and Kobey Lam paced Macau with 22 points apiece, but their efforts went for naught as the Giant Pandas failed to match SMB's offensive juggernaut and dropped to 0-2 in the tournament.

Related Tags

San Miguel June Mar Fajardo Macau Giant Pandas PBA
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