San Miguel Beermen's Renaldo Balkman escapes the defense of Ginebra Kings' Justin Brownlee and drives to the basket at Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals best-of-seven series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on July 29, 2018. The Beermen whipped Barangay Ginebra, 134-109. (Photo courtesy of PBA Media Bureau)
MANILA -- Two nights after conceding a blowout loss, it was San Miguel Beermen's turn to score a bludgeoning in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals.
The Beermen whipped Barangay Ginebra, 134-109, in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Sunday night.
SMB bounced back from a tough Game 1 defeat in style come the first half, opening a 75-46 halftime lead behind a 61.7 percent clip from the field.
Ginebra somehow threatened in the third quarter, dropping 33 points on SMB and cutting the lead, which spiked up to 31, down to just 20, 99-79.
The Beermen, however, held on in the fourth despite two of their key stars, Arwind Santos and Chris Ross, getting thrown out of the court late in the period.
Santos was first slapped with a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 after appearing to have hit Scottie Thompson at his torso area while trying to move out of a screen.
Ross then had an altercation with Joe Devance, leading to the two getting a technical foul each.
With Ross already incurring a technical foul earlier in the game, he was also shown the door.
Alex Cabagnot made 33 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and four steals for SMB, which tied the series at 1-1.
Junemar Fajardo added 25 markers, eight rebounds, and one assist, while, Renaldo Balkman, Chris Standhardinger, and Marcio Lassiter each made 20 points.
Justin Brownlee continued his efficient series despite the losing effort for Ginebra, making 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting with six rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one block. (PNA)
