MANILA – The San Miguel Beermen punched their ticket to the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals with a hard-fought 92-88 victory over the NLEX Road Warriors in their Christmas Day quarterfinal showdown on December 25, 2025, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The top-seeded Beermen—leveraging their twice-to-beat advantage—overcame a gritty NLEX challenge to close out the best-of-three series in two games and set up a highly anticipated semifinal clash.
June Mar Fajardo led the way with a monster double-double of 24 points and 16 rebounds, while CJ Perez added 18 points and Mo Tautuaa contributed 15 points off the bench. San Miguel’s depth and championship pedigree shone in crunch time, holding off NLEX’s late rally sparked by Robert Bolick’s 22 points and Don Trollano’s 19.
The Beermen now await the winner of the other quarterfinal series between Magnolia and Converge (where Ginebra’s do-or-die fate hangs in the balance). Coach Jorge Gallent praised his team’s resilience on the holiday stage: “Christmas games are always special—glad we gave the fans a win to celebrate.”
NLEX fought valiantly as the underdog but fell short in their upset bid, ending a strong conference on a bittersweet note.
The packed Big Dome crowd—treated to the traditional PBA Christmas double-header—witnessed another chapter in San Miguel’s quest for back-to-back All-Filipino titles.
Box Score Highlights:
| Team | Key Scorers |
|---|---|
| San Miguel | Fajardo 24 pts/16 reb, Perez 18, Tautuaa 15 |
| NLEX | Bolick 22, Trollano 19 |