The San Miguel Beermen (3-2) fended off a late comeback attempt by the Converge FiberXers (3-2) to notch their third straight win in a thrilling 96-90 showdown. Meanwhile, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2-3) moved to the win column after dominating the NLEX Road Warriors (4-2) with a blowout 104-74 victory on November 2.
Here are the players who made the biggest impact and the stats to prove it.
TOP PERFORMERS OF THE DAY:
Justine Baltazar CON PF 14 PTS | 19 REB | 5 STL | 54.3 FPS
Balti has been a consistent double-double machine this conference, but against SMB, he elevated his game even further on defense, recording his best rebounding and steal numbers.
June Mar Fajardo SMB C 24 PTS | 16 REB | 2 BLK | 53.2 FPS
JMF continues to dominate the league, putting up a conference-high performance after scoring at least 17 points in each of his first four games. He’s also hauled in 16.6 rebounds per game and dished out at least 4 assists in every outing this conference.
Stephen Jeffrey Holt GIN SG 20 PTS | 4 AST | 3 STL | 37.6 FPS
Holt shone on both ends of the floor, posting his first 20-point game this conference while leading the team in steals.
Deschon Winston CON SG 20 PTS | 7 REB | 4 AST | 36.4 FPS
Schonny had some struggles on offense but compensated with a nearly flawless 7-for-8 shooting from the line, finishing with his best scoring game this conference. He’s been a reliable option on offense, shooting 48% from two, 36.8% from three, and 93.1% from the line through his first five games.
Justin Arana CON C 19 PTS | 10 REB | 4 AST | 34.0 FPS
Arana is averaging 19.2 points through his first five outings and has recorded his third double-double of the conference.
Japeth Aguilar GIN C 25 PTS | 5 REB | 1 BLK | 33.5 FPS
Japeth put the team on his back, scoring 21 big points in the second half. He was highly efficient from the field, nearly shooting at 70% to record his conference-best scoring performance.
Jaymar Perez SMB SF 13 PTS | 7 REB | 3 STL | 32.9
Perez has had an inconsistent start to the conference. He averaged 20 points in a two-game streak, but he was limited to 10 against Ginebra, with 8 of those coming in the first quarter. While he showed his versatility against Converge, his outside shooting and turnovers remain an issue, converting 3-of-17 so far this conference and committing five turnovers in each of his last two games.
Jeth Troy Rosario GIN C 9 PTS | 11 REB | 3 AST | 31.7 FPS
Rosario turned in a subpar performance against SMB in Dubai, missing all his two-point attempts, but he redeemed himself vs. NLEX and nearly recorded his second double-double of the conference.
Earl Scottie Thompson 12 PTS | 6 REB | 11 AST | 30.7 FPS
Scottie finished with his second straight double-digit scoring game, his fifth-straight game with at least 5 rebounds, and his third game this conference with 7+ assists.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE DAY:
Robert Lee Bolick NLX SG 4 PTS | 2 REB | 4 TO
Bolick continues to struggle from the field, shooting just 10-for-34 over his last three games, including 2-for-12 from three. Still, he remains one of the league’s top playmakers, dishing out 9 or more assists in each of his last four games.
