Beermen rip hapless Dyip

MANILA, Philippines — In a display of vast firepower, San Miguel Beer ‘s shock troopers led by Rodney Brondial did the heavy lifting to get the job done against sputtering Terrafirma.

Sparked by Brondial’s standout game, the Beermen ran over the Dyip, 128-89, to notch back-to-back wins and grab solo third in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Ynares Center Montalban.

Easing the big man duties of star June Mar Fajardo, Brondial hauled down a career-high 22 rebounds to go with 16 markers as he led a sizzling 24-7 start that set the tone for all-business SMB’s smashing 39-point romp that followed up its 111-92 rout of Phoenix.

At 5-2 overall, the charges of coach Leo Austria broke out of a tie for No. 3 with idle Barangay Ginebra (4-2) and moved half a game behind second-running NLEX (5-1).

“Para sa akin, kung ano lang ang maitutulong ko, especially sa intangibles,” said Brondial, who also shot 8-of-11 from the field and dished out one assist, one steal and one block in an error-free outing that earned him Player of the Game honors.

“Ever since, hindi naman ako conscious sa points; sa rebounds at defense ang focus ko, nagkataon lang na 16 points ngayon,” added Brondial, who already had eight markers and 12 boards in the first quarter alone.

Mo Tautuaa, another backup frontliner, produced 17 markers as he shared scoring honors with CJ Perez for the Beermen and also had eight caroms.

Later, hot-shooting Rain or Shine stopped the six-game unbeaten run of Magnolia, 119-105. The masterful conquest lifted the Elasto Painters (4-2) to a share of No. 4 with Ginebra.