San Miguel loses to Japan’s Ryukyu by 28 points in EASL
UTSUNOMIYA – What was expected to be a tit-for-tat match turned into another heavy loss for the Philippine delegation attending East Asian Super League Championship Week.
Its foundation was dropped midway through the game with less than five minutes to start, San Miguel Beer fell into the hole early and never recovered against Ryukyu, 96-68, in the two’s debut. club on Thursdays at Nikkan Arena here.
June Mar Fajardo, six-time PBA Player of the Year requested to be replaced at 5:11 of the first quarter after colliding with Golden Kings import Jack Cooley.
And it turned out to be the opening opportunity that B.League runners-up needed.
Keita Imamura, import Allen Durham and Cooley joined hands in a second-quarter offensive that knocked out a team without Fajardo. They go on to build a 31 cushion that they nurture for the rest of the way.
Cameron Clark led San Miguel with 25 points, while CJ Perez added 12 points in TNT’s 33-point loss hit the hand of the host Utsunomiya the night before.
Jessie Govan, Beermen’s other importer, had seven points while Simon Enciso added six more on the losing side.
Imamura and Cooley each had 20 goals for Ryukyu while Durham, a former PBA importer, had 13 for the Japanese teams to show off during the five-day rollout.
San Miguel plays Anyang KGC next.
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