Beermen ward off FiberXers

MANILA, Philippines -- The San Miguel Beermen fought off a scare from the gritty Converge FiberXers, 102-95, to take a 1-0 lead in their PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinal series Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

The Beermen were in control almost the whole game, but the FiberXers leaned on their scrappy defense to try to storm back. The latter, however, ultimately came up short.

The debuting EJ Anosike led the charge with 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. But he had six turnovers and shot 7-of-24 from the field. June Mar Fajardo had a massive double-double with 25 points and 16 rebounds.

San Miguel led by 16 points, 97-81, with 3:44 remaining in the game after a CJ Perez layup.

Turnovers by the Beermen, as well as timely shots by Converge, sparked a 14-2 run capped by a 3-pointer by JL delos Santos to cut the deficit to four, 95-99, with 57 seconds to go.

After a miss by Perez on the other end, Schonny Winston missed a 3-pointer that would have cut the lead to just one.

In the next possession, Anosike, who stepped in for Jordan Adams, turned the ball over after a steal by Alec Stockton. Delos Santos, though, threw the ball away for the costly error.

Delos Santos was able to grab the steal and threw it on Perez on his way out, but the ball touched him last.

Anosike sank a pair of free throws to ice the game.

“Our composure, it really got out. It’s good na doon sa end, it came back and we got the victory today,” San Miguel head coach Jorge Gallent told reporters after the game.

Perez and Kris Rosales added 11 apiece for the Beermen.

Jalen Jones spearheaded Converge with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Justin Arana chipped in 20 markers and six boards, while Winston had 17.

Game 2 of the series will be on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.