San Miguel Beer took no chances this time. After a tough loss in their last outing, the Beermen delivered a wire-to-wire 104-93 victory over Barangay Ginebra in the 2025 PBA Philippine Cup on Friday night, April 25, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

CJ Perez powered San Miguel’s explosive showing with 23 points, including two backbreaking four-point plays that shut down Ginebra’s late-game comeback attempts. It was a statement win for the Beermen, who improved to 3-1 after falling short in a narrow defeat to Magnolia.

The Beermen were red-hot from the opening buzzer, racing to a 25-11 lead in the first quarter and never looking back. With their offense humming at a 51.9 percent clip and their defense stifling, San Miguel led by as much as 23 points and never let Ginebra get closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Don Trollano contributed 19 points on a strong shooting night, while June Mar Fajardo added 18 points. Jericho Cruz had 11, and both Juami Tiongson and Marcio Lassiter chipped in 10 each for a San Miguel squad that had six players in double figures.

San Miguel’s dominance was clear on both ends. They held Ginebra to just 30 percent shooting in the first half while knocking down 50 percent of their three-point attempts (8-of-16) overall. Trollano scored 11 of his total in the first two quarters, while Fajardo grabbed eight rebounds to go along with his scoring.

Ginebra, fresh off a 101-80 win over Terrafirma, struggled to find rhythm offensively. Japeth Aguilar, who had 30 points in their last game, was limited to 12 this time. The Kings’ late rallies were repeatedly denied, especially by Perez, who drained a four-point play and a triple during a key stretch that shut the door on Ginebra.

San Miguel entered halftime with a 48-30 lead and maintained control throughout. Ginebra couldn’t match the Beermen’s firepower, converting just one of eight from beyond the arc compared to San Miguel’s eight triples.

With this win, San Miguel regains momentum while Ginebra drops to 1-1 in the season-ending conference.

The Scores:
San Miguel 104 – Perez 23, Trollano 19, Fajardo 18, Cruz 11, Tiongson 10, Lassiter 10, Rosales 8, Calma 4, Teng 1, Brondial 0, Cahilig 0, Tautuaa 0, Ross 0.
Ginebra 93 – Rosario 24, Holt 16, Malonzo 16, Thompson 14, J. Aguilar 12, Abarrientos 6, Pinto 3, Ahanmisi 2, Cu 0, R. Aguilar 0, Adamos 0.

Quarters: 25-11, 48-30, 83-65, 104-93