Beermen finish strong, reclaim solo top spot
MANILA—San Miguel broke away in the final period and plastered Barako Bull, 94-81, last night to reclaim the solo lead in the PBA Philippine Cup elimination round at the Araneta Coliseum. The Beermen dropped a 10-0 bomb after the Elasto Painters had opened up the payoff canto with a Reed Juntilla basket to lead for the last time, and San Miguel went on to pick up its seventh win in nine contests. “It’s a good thing that our defense clicked in the fourth (quarter),” coach Ato Agustin told reporters in Filipino. “I reminded them as early as the second quarter that we cannot relax,” Agustin continued. Arwind Santos scored 19 points and had 10 boards and Danny Seigle was his old deadly self, finishing with 17 points. Seigle missed just one triple attempt, two two-point tries and made all five of his free throws in a 23-minute stint. “I think he just wants to prove something,” Agustin said of Seigle. Idle Talk ‘N Text dropped to solo second with the San Miguel win. Dondon Hontiveros scattered 16 points and Jay Washington scored all his 11 points in the first three periods for the Beermen, who bounced back from a shock loss to Rain or Shine last week. The loss was the third straight in a 2-6 card for the Energy Boosters, who trailed big early but made a game out of it early in the second period when Mac Andaya scored on a short stab that made it 30-all. Mark Isip tossed in 22 points and Sunday Salvacion had 17 for the Boosters, whose loss dropped a full-game behind idle Air21.
Rico Maierhofer and Roger Yap scored 18 points each and led Derby Ace to an 85-73 victory over Powerade later in the night, the defending champions’ third straight win. Maierhofer, last season’s top rookie, also collared 13 rebounds, while Yap had nine boards and six assists as the Llamados rose to 4-5 and dealt the Tigers a third straight loss in a 3-6 card. The scores:First Game
SAN MIGUEL 94—Santos 19, Seigle 17, Hontiveros 16, Washington 11, Cabagnot 9, Pennisi 6, Ildefonso 5, Yeo 4, Miranda 4, Racela 3, Canta 0, Tugade 0.
BARAKO BULL 81—Isip 22, Salvacion 17, Bono 9, Andaya 8, Juntilla 7, Cruz 7, Yee 4, Dimaunahan 3, Hubalde 2, Wainwright 2, Alonzo 0, Duncil 0.
Quarters: 30-23, 47-45, 67-66, 94-81
Second Game
B-MEG DERBY ACE 85—Yap R. 18, Maierhofer 18, Simon 16, Villanueva 13, Yap J. 10, Salvador 4, Gaco 2, Canaleta 2, Allado 2, Adducul 0.
POWERADE 73—David 17, Rizada 12, Macapagal 10, Espino 9, Lanete 6, Enrile 5, Reyes 4, Gonzales 4, Reyes 2, Antonio 2, Laure 1, Ritualo 1, Calimag 0.
Quarters: 16-26, 35-42, 60-56, 85-73
