San Miguel smothers Ginebra in battle of title favorites

San Miguel Beer played with grit and energy as it hammered Barangay Ginebra, 104-93, to get back on the winning track in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Don Trollano caught fire early, knocking down 11 of his 19 points in the first half to help the Beermen jump off to a sizeable 48-30 halftime lead.

The Beermen hardly got any resistance from the Gin Kings in the second half, extending their lead to as high as 23 points en route to their third win in four starts.

Ginebra dropped to 1-1, just two days after opening the conference with a 101-80 spanking of Terrafirma.

CJ Perez led San Miguel with 23 points, while June Mar Fajardo added 18 and 12 rebounds.

Jericho Cruz scored 11 points and three other Beermen had 10 or more points as San Miguel held a massive 43-27 bench points advantage.

Troy Rosario paced Ginebra with 24 points while Stephen Holt and Jamie Malonzo scored 16 each.