MANILA – San Miguel Beermen leaned on a huge finishing run to defeat Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 120-111, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Saturday night at the Cagayan de Oro City Convention Center in Cagayan de Oro City.
Leading by as many as 25 points, the Beermen saw their advantage trimmed to 102-103 before they went on a 7-0 scoring run behind Celedonio Trollano and Rodney Brondial for a 110-102 lead.
The Painters trimmed the deficit to 105-110 with an Andrei Caracut triple, but a split free throw by June Mar Fajardo and a four-point shot by Jaymar Perez restored a double-digit edge for the Beermen.
Perez finished with 33 points, including two three-pointers, to go with eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals as the Beermen moved to solo second place with a 7-2 win-loss slate.
Trollano added 24 markers, Fajardo had a near double-double of 20 points and nine rebounds, and Marcio Lassiter contributed 16 markers off-the-bench for the Beermen.
Caracut led the way with 24 points, Adrian Nocum added 22 markers, while Jhonard Clarito, Keith Datu, and Leonard Santillan had 17, 12, and 10 points, respectively, for the Painters, which dropped to a 6-4 record.
Over at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila City, NLEX Road Warriors turned things around in the second half to defeat Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, 107-99.
Robert Bolick Jr. finished with 25 points, including three triples and two four-pointers, to go with nine rebounds and five assists as the Road Warriors surged to solo first place with an 8-2 win-loss slate.
Rookies Xyrus Torres and Brandon Ramirez contributed 22 and 18 markers, respectively, while Jonnel Policarpio and Javee Mocon tallied 12 and 10 points for the Road Warriors.
Zavier Lucero finished with a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds, Ian Sangalang added 21 markers, while Jerom Lastimosa and Paul Lee tallied 17 and 16, respectively, as the Hotshots dropped to a 7-3 record./PN
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 120 – Perez 33, Trollano 24, Fajardo 20, Lassiter 16, Tiongson 8, Cruz 6, Ross 4, Brondial 4, Cahilig 3, Tautuaa 2.
RAIN OR SHINE 111 – Caracut 24, Nocum 22, Clarito 17, Datu 12, Santillan 10, Mamuyac 9, Tiongson 7, Porter 5, Asistio 5, Norwood 0.
Quarterscores: 30-25, 60-43, 93-78, 120-111.
