San Miguel's June Mar Fajardo in action against NLEX in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup elimination round, April 28, 2024 at the PhilSports Arena. PBA Images

MANILA -- The San Miguel Beermen made it nine wins in a row in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup after cruising past NLEX, 120-103, on Sunday evening at the PhilSports Arena.

Six players scored in double-digits for the still unbeaten Beermen, who are now assured of the No. 1 seed in the playoffs along with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

CJay Perez top-scored for San Miguel with 30 points on 7-of-16 shooting, but June Mar Fajardo deservedly earned Player of the Game honors after a 20-point, 21-rebound outing in his 35-minute stint.

The Beermen built several double-digit leads but the Road Warriors -- playing without star point guard Robert Bolick -- repeatedly worked their way back into the contest.

"When the lead went down, we called a timeout and they just brought back the energy after the timout, and they were fine," SMB coach Jorge Gallent said of his team.

Bolick, a contender for Best Player of the Conference honors, missed the game to attend the birth of his first child.

Without him, NLEX got 18 points from Enoch Valdez and 16 from Nermal. However, they dropped their third straight game to fall to 5-4 in the conference. 

The Scores:

SAN MIGUEL 120 – Perez 30, Fajardo 20, Romeo 15, Cruz 15, Lassiter 14, Trollano 14, Enciso 6, Brondial 4, Teng 2, Tautuaa 0, Ross 0

NLEX 103 – Valdez 18, Nermal 16, Nieto 14, Anthony 12, Herndon 11, Rodger 8, Miranda 7, Semerad 7, Fajardo 4, Amer 2, Taha 2

QUARTERS: 25-15, 50-41, 83-71, 120-103