SAN Miguel suffered a second straight loss in the East Asia Super League (EASL) Home And Away Season 2 after falling against the Taoyuan Pilots, 101-85, Wednesday night at the Philsports Arena.
The Beermen kept things close in the opening quarter, but suddenly went cold in the second period where they were outscored by the visiting team from the P.League+ of Taiwan, 28-13.
The scoring outburst allowed the Pilots to sit on a 57-33 lead at the break from which the Beermen never recovered.
San Miguel fell to a 0-2 record in Group A after losing its debut game against the Suwon KT Sonicboom of the Korean Basketball League, 87-81, also at home last month.
Compounding the woes of the reigning PBA Commissioner's Cup champion was the ejection of veteran guard Jericho Cruz following a disqualifying foul he committed against Taoyuan import Alec Brown.
Sponsored content: The incident happened at the 6:32 mark of the final quarter and the Pilots leading by a mile, 86-68.
"We thought we had a better chance (tonight), but apparently, we fell short again," said San Miguel deputy coach Peter Martin.
"We are having a hard time adjusting to the international ball, but Quincy (Miller) showed up tonight."
The 6-foot-9 San Miguel import had 23 points and three rebounds on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, while Don Trollano had 13 as the two ended up as the only Beermen in double figures in scoring.
EJ Anosike and CJ Perez both with eight points, while big man June Mar Fajardo had a quiet seven points and 11 rebounds.
Sponsored content: Brown fell a rebound short of a double-double with 27 points and nine rebounds, while big man Lu Chun-Hsiang and Trevon Graham each had 24 points for Taoyuan, which won on the road for the second straight game for a perfect 2-0 standings.(RG)
The scores
Taoyuan Pauian Pilots (101) -- Brown 27, Graham 25, Lu 25, Pai 11, Li 5, Lin 2, Dieng 2, Chen 2, Kuan 2, Lin 0, Qiao 0.
San Miguel (85) -- Miller 32, Trollano 13, Anosike 8, Perez 8, Fajardo 7, Tautuaa 5, Romeo 4, Cruz 4, Rosales 3, Ross 1, Teng 0, Brondial 0.
Quarterscores: 25-20; 57-33; 83-56; 101-85.
