FIRST, 47 points. It helped produce a runaway win for San Miguel Beer over Nlex.
Although the Beermen could “only” score a four-point, 109-105 victory in the end, the win had been completely secured with SMB’s 20-plus points margins coming home.
Next, 37 points. That was posted only three days ago. It helped San Miguel Beer grab yet another easy win, this time a smashing 20-point, 128-108 scalping of Phoenix Pulse.
That totaled 84 points in just two games for Chris McCullough, who hasn’t even totally shooed off jet lag.
But the 6-foot-9 (not 6-foot-8) McCullough, at 20 a promising first-round pick of the Brooklyn Nets in the 2015 NBA draft, is already fast proving to be the new pillar for the embattled Beermen.
Thus, from a 2-5, win-loss card under erstwhile import Charles Rhodes, San Miguel Beer has tremendously leaped to 4-5 since McCullough’s arrival.
Suddenly, the road to the quarterfinals appears obstacle-free for SMB?
You can bet on that and, for sure, SMB’s continued resurgence is expected to hold. McCullough will see to that as he has resolved to maintain, if not surpass, his explosive first two-games.
He knows that SMB will advance virtually hassle-free should the Beermen win their last two games in the 12-team elimination series where the last four cellar-dwellers go on forced vacation.
The final push begins today, when the Beermen battle Rain or Shine in Cagayan de Oro City, needing a victory to at least earn a playoff for the eighth and final quarterfinal slot.
Add yet another win against Meralco on July 17 and SMB’s final 6-5 card will ensure the team’s solid stint in the middle of the pack, eliminating possible playoff complications.
As everybody knows, the Beermen are perennially spotlight-prone because, aside from being always a title contender, they are the natural candidates for a Grand Slam finish after pocketing a record fifth Philippine Cup earlier.
McCullough, only 24 but playing too mature beyond his age (wingspan 7’3”), might yet prove to be the key.
The savior has landed?
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Happy birthday to Freddie Abellar of Congress!