Brondial stands tall as Beermen crush Dyip by 39 points

MANILA, Philippines -- San Miguel big man Rodney Brondial flexed his muscles inside, helping the Beermen deal the free-falling Terrafirma Dyip 39-point, 128-89 beatdown in their PBA Philippine Cup matchup Sunday at the Ynares Center in Montalban.

The Beermen thus have won back-to-back games and dealt the Dyip their seventh straight loss in the All-Filipino Cup.

Seven Beermen finished in double figures, led by CJ Perez and Mo Tautuaa who had 17 points apiece. The former tallied four rebounds and four assists, while the latter added eight boards on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting.

But it was Brondial who stood out, powering his way inside en route to 16-point and a career-high 22-rebound performance in almost 27 minutes of floor time. Coming in as a starter, he also had a team-high +- of +34.

After the game, Brondial said that he just focused on helping the team.

He also stressed that he just made the most out of his playing time.

“Importante syempre, ako naman kung ano lang yung maibibigay ko, especially mga intangibles. Basta makatulong lang sa team,” he told reporters after the game.

“Lalo ngayon, all Filipino. Ito syempre yung pagkakataon natin na maglaro eh. Kasi pag may import, nasa mundo na naman tayo ng mga halimaw eh. So kaya sinusulit ko lang muna. Kasi pag may import, pa-joke-time joke-time naman tayo,” he added.

San Miguel led by double digits as early as the first quarter, but the Dyip finished the frame trailing by seven, 21-28.

But in the middle quarters, the Beermen outscored Terrafirma 67-43 to take a 95-64 lead heading into the fourth.

The 39-point spread at the end of the game was the biggest lead of the wire-to-wire victory.

San Miguel head coach Leo Austria, in the post-game press conference, underscored Brondial’s intensity in the game and in training.

“Ever since naman eh, alam natin yung kanyang hard-nosed defense, and then yung kanyang rebounding. Intense to play. During practice makikita mo yung intensity nandoon eh. And that's the habit na ginagawa niya eh,” he said.

“Yan yung mga ginagawa niya eh. Yung mga intangibles eh, makikita mo yun eh. And I'm so fortunate to have a player like him. Dahil hindi mo na kailangang i-motivate eh. Self-motivated siya eh.”

Juami Tiongson chipped in 13 points, while June Mar Fajardo and Don Trollano had 12 apiece for San Miguel. Jericho Cruz finished with 11 points.

Mark Nonoy spearheaded Terrafirma with 24 points, while Stanley Pringle and Louie Sangalang chipped in 17 and 10 markers, respectively.

The Beermen will try to make it three in a row as they face the Blackwater Bossing next Sunday.

For its part, Terrafirma will aim to break free from the losing streak against the Converge FiberXers on May 28.

Both games will be at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.