DEVON Scott came up with a much better performance than in his debut and his teammates followed suit as San Miguel Beer snapped out of its rut with a 124-116 win over NLEX Sunday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
In stark contrast to his 16-point debut on just a 7-of-18 field shooting just last Friday, Scott this time notched 26 points after making half of his 20 shots and also pulled down 10 rebounds and dished off seven assists while being plagued by foul trouble.
The biggest help were the 22 points apiece by Marcio Lassiter and Vic Manuel as the Beermen cut short a two-game slide that started with the sidelining of June Mar Fajardo and improved to a 2-4 record overall.
Manuel, in particular, was at his best after Don Trollano's triple moved the Road Warriors within 109-112, scoring four points during a critical 8-0 run that gave the Beermen a 120-109 separation and effectively took the fight out of NLEX going to the last two minutes of play.
CJ Perez, Jericho Cruz and Mo Tautuaa also provided ample support by combining for 45 points as SMB gained some momentum going to its next outing against NorthPort on Wednesday.
Sponsored content: "It's a matter of mindset for the players. I kept on telling them that we have to fight. There's no more June Mar so we cannot dwell on him and that's what happened," said SMB coach Leo Austria, adding Scott's energy rubbed off on his local teammates.
"I think because of the import, 'yung sipag niya, he keeps on running up and down... so it's enough to motivate the players," offered Austria. "I'm happy for the win. It's a must-win for us," added Austria.
Earl Clark followed up a 45-point game in NLEX's 110-101 shocker over TNT last Wednesday with 40 points and 25 rebounds.
Justin Chua notched a personal conference-high 23 points and Trollano heated up late to finish with 21 points, but the Road Warriors still dropped to an even 3-3 slate after failing to match the Beermen's endgame drive.
The tone was set by Lassiter right in the opening quarter when he scored 18 of his points, boosting SMB to as much as a 52-37 spread.
Sponsored content: It did not take NLEX too long to regain its bearings, however, with Clark leading the fightback with Chua, Matt Nieto, Trollano and Kevin Alas chiefly backstopping the former NBA campaigner. (NC)
The Scores:
San Miguel 124 - Scott 26, Lassiter 22, Manuel 22, Perez 16, Cruz 15, Perez 14, Herndon 6, Ross 3, Enciso 0, Brondial 0.
NLEX 116 - Clark 40, Chua 23, Trollano 21, Nieto 12, Alas 10, Fonacier 3, Miranda 3, Varilla 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Rosales 0.
Quarters: 43-35, 66-57, 95-90, 124-116
