San Miguel Beer turns back Star five
June Mar Fajardo
June Mar Fajardo and Arwind Santos were a double-edged battering ram in the second half for San Miguel Beer Saturday night as the Beermen added to Star’s woes in the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup with a 101-90 win at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Fajardo scored 16 of his 27 and Santos drilled in 20 of his 22 in the final two periods to spearhead the Beermen in mangling the Hotshots in the Petron Saturday Special game that raised San Miguel’s record to 6-1, tied with Alaska for the lead.
“They really wanted to win,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria told reporters. “The reasons for our second half surge was simple: Arwind (Santos) and June Mar (Fajardo).”
The loss was the fourth straight for the Hotshots, who slipped to 2-5 and would need to win their last three games in order to have a shot at landing in the middle of the pack if they are to make the playoffs at all.
Aldrech Ramos had 15 points that went with nine rebounds in leading Mahindra to an 86-83 victory over Meralco in the first game.
Mark Yee finished with 14 and three others tossed in 10 or more as the Enforcers snapped a tournament-worst four-game losing streak to improve to 2-5 and bury the Bolts deeper in the cellar with a 1-7 card.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine puts hulking Barangay Ginebra to the test today when the Elasto Painters and the Gin Kings clash in a game that will have a big significance in their respective drives for a top two finish.
Game time is 5:15 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao. GlobalPort slugs it out with Blackwater in the 3 p.m. game.
The scores:
First Game
MAHINDRA 86—Ramos 15, Yee 14, Pascual 12, Revilla 12, Pinto 10, Canaleta 8, Guinto 5, Laure 5, Dehesa 3, Hubalde 2, Alvarez 0, Bagatsing 0, Digregorio 0, Webb 0.
MERALCO 83—David 18, Al-Hissaini 15, Hodge 14, Alapag 10, Amer 10, Buenafe 6, Atkins 4, Newsome 4, Nabong 2, Dillinger 0, Faundo 0, Ferriols 0 Guevarra 0, Hugnatan 0.
Quarters: 16-12, 35-39, 58-64, 86-83
Second Game
SAN MIGUEL BEER 101—Fajardo 27, Santos 22, Cabagnot 11, Lassiter 10, Lutz 9, Ross 9, Espinas 8, Tubid 3, Arana 2, De Ocampo 0, Heruela 0, Mabulac 0, Omolon 0, Reyes 0.
STAR 90—Yap 22, Barroca 15, Simon 10, Taha 10, Cruz 7, Pingris 7, Pascual 6, Mallari 5, Sangalang 4, Maliksi 2, Torres 2, Gaco 0, Melton 0, Pascual, R. 0.
Quarters: 19-all, 43-41, 71-65, 101-90
