Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The San Miguel Beermen asserted their mastery of the Alaska Aces, leading from start to finish en route to a smashing 116-96 victory in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday night.
It was the fifth straight time that the Beermen had defeated the Aces since the Finals of this season’s Philippine Cup. The SMB victory also snapped Alaska’s five-game winning streak.
What made the SMB victory even more impressive was that the Beermen did it with a decimated roster—three of their players were out on injuries, including back-to-back MVP June Mar Fajardo. The two other injured SMB players were Ryan Arana and Brian Heruela.
SMB improved to a 4-2 win-loss card, good for solo third in the team standings. Alaska allowed idle Meralco to forge a tie for the top two spots, both with a 5-2 mark.
The Beermen frustrated the Aces all night long with their impeccable shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos drilled five triples each, while import Tyler Wilkerson added four triples of his own. Overall, the Beermen converted 17 three-pointers.
Wilkerson finished with 32 points and 14 boards, while Cabagnot added 22 points and six assists off the bench.
The Beermen enjoyed leads of as much as 27 points late in the payoff period as the Aces suffered a total meltdown both in offense and defense. They were led by import Shane Edwards who finished with 15 points and 12 boards. Chris Excimiano also had 15 markers while Vic Manuel posted 13 points and nine boards. Calvin Abueva and Chris Banchero added 12 points apiece in a losing effort.
Rain or Shine 103, Mahindra 98
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters weathered a strong challenge from the Mahindra Enforcers to hack out a 103-98 victory, their third straight in the conference.
The win sent ROS into a tie for fourth to fifth place with idle Barangay Ginebra Kings, both with a 4-3 win-loss card.
The loss, their fourth in seven games, dropped the Enforcers into a five-way tie for sixth to 10th place alongside Star, Blackwater, NLEX and Tropang TNT in the team standings.
ROS won despite the ejection of coach Yeng Guiao in the first half and top gunner Jeff Chan sustaining a blackeye in the final quarter when the Painters finally got the spurt they needed to break free from the pesky Enforcers.
Guiao was thrown out after picking up two straight technical fouls late in the second quarter for excessive questioning of referees’ calls.
Chan and Jericho Cruz provided the sparks for ROS in the closing minutes of the game. They both finished with 18 points. With Mahindra still up, 95-93, Chan drained a right-wing three-pointer. Then Cruz converted on a putback to seal the victory for ROS.
JR Quiñahan led the Painters with 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Import Mo Charlo had a subdued all-around game of 16 points, on a forgettable 3-of-12 shooting, on top of eight rebounds, and eight assists. Import Augustus Gilchrist paced Mahindra with 28 points and 11 boards. LA Revilla added 20 markers and eight assists. However, he committed two crucial turnovers in the endgame that contributed to his team’s defeat.
Games Friday: Meralco Bolts (5-2) vs. Blackwater Elite (3-4) and GlobalPort Batang Pier (2-4) vs. Star Hotshots (3-4).
