SMB shoots for Terrific 12 Final 4 berth

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Beer targets a top finish in Group B for an outright Final Four berth while TNT KaTropa fights for survival in Group D in the last day of group play in the 2019 East Asia League Terrific 12 at the Tap Seac Stadium in Macau.

Even sans ace players June Mar Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter, the Beermen proved too much for Chinese team Shenzhen Aviators Tuesday night, pulling off a 90-76 win that they want to replicate against the reigning Terrific 12 champions Ryukyu Golden Kings at 7 p.m tonight.

Earlier at 3 p.m., the KaTropa play Japan’s Niigata Albirex, looking to bounce back from a close 91-96 loss to the Liaoning Flying Leopards to force a three-way logjam in Group D. TNT also hopes for a superior quotient to salvage a semis berth.

Other matches pit Group A squads Chiba Jets and Seoul SK Knights at 5 p.m. and Group C teams Utsonomiya Brex and Zheijang Lions at 9 p.m.

The Terrific 12 format calls for a round-robin among three teams in each of four groups, with the No. 1 teams advancing to the knockout Final Four.

San Miguel’s dominant win over Shenzhen, spiked by Dez Wells’ 29-point game, gave the Beermen an inside track in Group B.

Minus Fajardo and Lassiter, the Beermen went to Wells, import partner Lester Prosper and locals Terrence Romeo, Chris Ross, Christian Standhardinger and Arwind Santos in trouncing their first foe.

Prosper came up with a double-double game with 10 markers and 15 boards while Romeo, Ross, Standhardinger and Santos added at least nine points each.

Fajardo, with an ankle sprain, remains a game-time decision today.

Meanwhile, Blackwater, which dropped a 77-93 loss to Seoul SK Knights the other day, was playing the Chiba Jets at press time in Group A action.