No hangover for streaking Beermen

UNBEATEN defending champion San Miguel Beer rolled to its ninth straight win and clinched the No. 1 seed and a twice-to-beat advantage against NLEX last Sunday night.

That would have been a perfect reason for Beermen coach Jorge Gallent to toast his charges’ blistering bid in the season-ending tilt. But he downplayed the win and pointed to consistency as one of the keys.

“If we play the same way we’ve been playing for the first nine games, it wouldn’t be a bother for me or us,” Gallent said.

“As long as we play hard for 48 minutes and know our roles, we will be okay,” he added.

Gallent spoke after SMB tripped the Road Warriors 120-103 in the PBA Philippine Cup.

The Beermen did an encore to a 98-91 victory over the Magnolia Hotshots last Friday and rose to 9-0.

NLEX, which played without star Robert Bolick who was with his wife who gave birth to their first child last Sunday night, fell for the second time in a row, counting a 77-122 drubbing at the hands of Phoenix last April 20 in Tiaong, Quezon.

Gallent is not one to tell his squad not to look past their foes, including a Blackwater side fighting for dear life tomorrow.

“Our next goal is the 10th win,” Gallent said. “We are going step-by-step. Monday, Tuesday, we will prepare for Blackwater. For now, we will just think of the 10th game. We will think of Blackwater.”

CJ Perez sizzled with a game-high 30 points, to go with nine rebounds, while reigning seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo added a double-double of 20 markers and 21 boards.

Terrence Romeo and Jericho Cruz also had 15 points each, while Marcio Lassiter and Don Trollano combined for 28.

Rookie Enoch Valdez paced the Road Warriors with 18 points and eight caroms, while Jan Nhermal added 16 markers.

Matt Nieto, Sean Anthony, and Robbie Herndon also got 14, 12, and 11 points, respectively, for NLEX.

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