MANILA, Philippines -- The San Miguel Beermen are two wins away from returning to the PBA Philippine Cup finals after overwhelming the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 106-89, Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Beermen's unstoppable offense is just too much as the defending champions went up up 2-0 in the best-of-seven semifinal series.
June Mar Fajardo dominated inside with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
CJ Perez bounced back from a quiet Game 1 with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
After seeing their seven point first half lead evaporate, Rain or Shine cut a nine-point disadvantage to four, 69-73, with 4:45 remaining in the third quarter with a Beau Belga 3-pointer.
San Miguel, then, unleashed a 19-2 run capped by a jumper by Fajardo to go up by 17, 88-71, going into the final quarter.
The Beermen maintained the cushion through to the finish line, as the Elasto Painters only managed to inch to 12.
Terrence Romeo sparked San Miguel’s second unit with 16 points.
Marcio Lassiter also poured in 13 while making three of his six 3-pointers as he continued to inch closer to Jimmy Alapag’s all-time triple record. Lassiter leapfrogged Ginebra guard LA Tenorio to third all-time in 3-pointers made.
The Mighty Mouse sank 1,250 triples throughout his career.
Anton Asistio led the Elasto Painters with 20 points, three assists and three rebounds. Adrian Nocum added 17 markers, nine boards and four dimes in the losing effort.
San Miguel will try to go up 3-0 on Wednesday, 4:30 p.m., at the Dasmarinas Arena.