MANILA, Philippines – Jordan Adams took his momentary replacement in stride and let his game do the talking for San Miguel.
Adams erupted for 49 points with 11 rebounds and 2 steals as the Beermen stretched their winning streak in the PBA Governors’ Cup by way of a 139-127 victory over Phoenix at the Araneta Coliseum on Friday, September 13.
The performance came in Adams’ return as San Miguel import after the Beermen replaced him with Sheldon Mac for one game.
“I just had to stay ready. They told me to stay ready, you’ll never know what can happen. That is my job as a professional, stay in the gym and stay ready for my name to be called,” said Mac.
“Got to keep winning, that is all that matters here,” Mac added.
Adams steered San Miguel to three wins in its first five games of the conference before the team decided to go a different route and tapped Mac.
Mac finished with 16 points in a 119-194 win over NLEX on Wednesday, September 11, but the Beermen reversed its decision and brought Adams back.
“You know what is nice about Jordan, he was professional enough to stay with us and to play with us again. So I’m very happy that Jordan stayed and very happy for his game now,” said San Miguel head coach Jorge Gallent.
“It speaks that he is really a great import.”
With Adams showing the way, three more Beermen players scored in double figures, with reigning eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo putting up 22 points on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and 6 assists.
CJ Perez added 23 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter fired 16 points as he inched closer to the No. 1 spot in the all-time PBA three-pointers list.
Lassiter knocked down five triples — just three away from breaking the 1,250 three-pointers record of PBA great Jimmy Alapag.
Jericho Cruz and Don Trollano chimed in 9 and 8 points, respectively, as San Miguel picked up its third straight win and fifth overall in seven games.
Brandone Francis engaged Adams in a fierce battle between imports, exploding for 48 points in the highest scoring PBA game since NLEX defeated Terrafirma, 142-125, in the Governors’ Cup last season.
Francis’ superb showing, though, went down the drain as Fuel Masters stayed winless and dropped to 0-7 in Group B.
Jason Perkins tallied 18 points and 7 rebounds, while Raul Soyud and Ricci Rivero added 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.
The Scores
San Miguel 139 – Adams 49, Perez 23, Fajardo 22, Lassiter 16, Cruz 9, Trollano 8, Romeo 5, Tautuaa 4, Ross 3, Rosales 0, Brondial 0, Manuel 0, Teng 0.
Phoenix 127 – Francis 48, Perkins 18, Soyud 12, Rivero 11, Muyang 9, Tio 8, Salado 6, Jazul 5, Tuffin 5, Ballungay 3, Alejandro 2, Ular 0, Daves 0, Garcia 0, manganti 0, Verano 0.
Quarters: 32-29, 67-55, 103-88, 139-127.
– Rappler.com