MANILA, Philippines — June Mar Fajardo delivered his usual monster numbers, while Don Trollano sparked San Miguel Beer’s fiery third quarter offensive to oust eighth seed NLEX, 101-94 and book the first semifinal seat in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup on Christmas Day at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Road Warriors put on a solid first half effort, leading at the half, 53-47.
But that advantage vanished when Trollano, scoreless in the first half, exploded for 15 points on three triples in the third canto to help the Beermen grab a 79-72 lead.
Fajardo then put on the finishing touches, scoring 10 of his team-high 26 points to tow SMB to the Finals Four.
NLEX closed its All-Filipino campaign losing its last four games.
Fajardo, who also pulled down 23 rebounds, got plenty of support as Jericho Cruz finished with 18 points, Trollano had 17, while CJ Perez chipped in 14 for the defending champion.
Bolick finished with a game-high 31 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, just about a week after helping Gilas retain its Southeast Asian Games basketball gold in Bangkok.
Source: Trollano, Fajardo catch fire as top seed SMB ousts NLEX
