Jan Ballesteros 6y

Strong second half allows San Miguel to take 2-0 series lead over Alaska

The San Miguel Beermen turned it up in the second half to hack out a come-from-behind 105-94 win over Alaska in the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Beermen moved a win away from punching a ticket back to the finals of the midseason conference.

Import Renaldo Balkman powered the Beermen with 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block.

June Mar Fajardo also delivered a tour de force performance with 21 points and 18 rebounds to go with two assists and two steals. Chris Ross had 16 points built on four three-pointers.

Alex Cabagnot added 14 points, three rebounds, eight assists, and four steals.

Down by as much as 16 points in the second period, the Beermen opened the second half with a furious 12-2 run powered by three-straight triples by Chris Ross.

San Miguel Beer outscored the Aces, 38-24, in the pivotal period.

It was a relatively nip-and-tuck contest before the Beermen battered the Aecs on all fronts late in the fourth period to take a 97-87 lead with less than three minutes remaining.

Alaska tried to get back in the game but back-to-back triples by Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot shattered the Acesc hopes for a comeback, 105-82, 40 ticks to go.

Diamon Simpson and Simon Enciso had 19 points each for the shorthanded Aces. Vic Manuel had 15 markers, five boards, and two dimes.

Jeron Teng and JVee Casio scored 13 and 12, respectively.

THE SCORES

San Miguel 105 - Balkman 31, Fajardo 21, Ross 16, Cabagnot 14, Lassiter 8, Santos 5, Nabong 5, Heruela 3, Standhardinger 2.

Alaska 94 - Simpson 19, Enciso 19, Manuel 15, Teng 13, Casio 12, Thoss 6, Cruz 5, Galliguez 3, Racal 2, Exciminiano 0, Baclao 0.

Quarterscores: 18-29, 41-52, 79-74, 105-94.

EXTRA DRIBBLES

Chris Banchero did not play in Game 2 because he flew to the United States to attend to a personal issue.

Alex Cabagnot become the only PBA player with at least 800 three-point field goals made, while being in the top 10 all-time assists and steals.

NEXT GAME

Game 3 on July 18 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum

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