MANILA, Philippines — The San Miguel Beermen exploded in the second half and showed the Terrafirma Dyip the end of the road in the PBA Philippine Cup with a 110-91 demolition Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in M anila.
San Miguel is going to the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup and will face either the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters or the TNT Tropang Giga.
Reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo flexed his muscles in the interior with 25 points and 22 rebounds. Terrence Romeo added 19 off the bench.
After leading by just one, 45-44, at the half, the Beermen started to wax hot and unleashed a 24-9 run to go up by 16, 69-53, at the 4:13 mark of the third quarter.
Terrafirma tried to claw their way back in the fourth quarter, inching to just 11, 76-87, with a triple by Andreas Cahilig.
A 9-0 run capped by a jumper by Fajardo put the game at an insurmountable 20 point lead, 96-76.
Javi Gomez de Liano pulled the Dyip to just 15, 83-98, but Don Trollano and Fajardo put the finishing touches and secured the semifinal berth.
“Of course, our energy. We came out in the start of the game, we pressured a lot, and we brought them out of their comfort zone,” San Miguel head coach Jorge Gallent told reporters after the game.
“The energy and the discipline on defense today really worked.”
Trollano and CJ Perez produced 18 markers apiece for the Beermen, while Jericho Cruz had 11.
Gomez de Liano spearheaded Terrafirma with 23 points and six rebounds.
Stephen Holt and Juami Tiongson chipped in 18 each for the Dyip, wh o forced the do-or-die after a surprising win last week.
The Beermen shot 49% from the field, making 46-of-93 attempts, compared to the Dyip’s 43%.
HONG KONG, China — Asian markets wobbled Wednesday ahead of key US inflation data later in the day, with traders struggling to pick up the baton after a record performance on Wall Street.
A report showing a forecas t-beating rise in April wholesale prices was offset by a downward revision for the previous month, while analysts said a deeper look at the figures suggested the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation could ease further.
Investors were also digesting a warning from the central bank’s boss that the battle against prices was proving tougher than expected and indicated interest rates could remain elevated for some time.
There was also some nervousness on trading floors after Beijing hit out at Washington’s decision to impose steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports such as electric vehicles and semiconductors.
The commerce ministry said the decision would “severely affect the atmosphere for bilateral cooperation”.
But all focus is on the release later Wednesday of the consumer price index (CPI), which will likely play a key role in the Fed’s decision on when to start cutting interest rates, if at all this year.
The report follows readings that came in above expectations in the first three months of the year, denting hopes for a reduction in borrowing costs.
However, the data is forecast to show prices slowing down again.
“Investors are expecting inflation to fall in April,” Ameriprise’s Anthony Saglimbene said.
“Even if the decline is slight, markets are looking for further evidence that the downward trend in inflation remains intact and, importantly, is not in the process of reversing course higher.”
A sense of optimism on Wall Street pushed all three main indexes higher, with the Nasdaq hitting a new record and the S&P 500 coming within a whisker of its own all-time peak.
Asia was mixed, with Tokyo, Sydney, Taipei and Jakarta rising but Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila falling. Hong Kong and Seoul were closed for holidays.
In Europe, London, Paris and Frankfurt all opened higher.
The CPI release comes after Fed chief Jerome Powell said readings at the start of the year had lowered his level of confidence that price rises would slow back down towards officials’ long-term target.
“The first quarter in the United States was notable for its lack of further progress on inflation,” he said. “We did not expect this to be a smooth road, but these were higher than I think anybody expected.
“And so what that has told us is we’ll need to be patient and let restrictive policy do its work.”
However, he added that he did not expect the Fed would need to hike rates.
Also Tuesday, Kansas City Fed chief Jeffrey Schmid warned rates could stay high “for some time” and that he was “prepared to be patient as this process plays out”.
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 38,385.73 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,119.90 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,470.02
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.31 yen from 156.40 yen
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0828 from $1.0819 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2594 from $1.2590
Euro/pound: UP at 85.99 from 85.92 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $78.55 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $82.88 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 39,558.11 (close)
—Bloomberg News contributed to this story