PBA: Wilkerson stays hot as Beermen down Blackwater

Tyler Wilkerson vs MJ Rhett. PBA IMAGES

ANTIPOLO, Philippines — Import Tyler Wilkerson continued his torrid pace and San Miguel Beer eased past Blackwater, 108-96, in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Wilkerson fired 35 points five days after scoring 52 in a win over GlobalPort. He also had 17 rebounds and four blocks to lead the Beermen to their second straight victory.

“Every game is very important for us because this is a short conference and most of the teams are stuck in the middle,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria.

“This is our second straight win and I hope this will motivate us going up against Meralco,” said Austria as he braces for an anticipated showdown with the undefeated Meralco Bolts on Saturday in Legazpi City.

June Mar Fajardo added 20 points and seven rebounds while Alex Cabagnot had 13 points off the bench as San Miguel moved into a tie with Alaska at third and fourth place at 2-1.

The Elite kept it close in the first half but it was all Beermen in the final two quarters.

San Miguel broke the game open in the third quarter where it outscored Blackwater, 34-18.

Arwind Santos and Marcio Lassiter hit back-to-back threes barely a minute into the third period that gave SMB a 52-39 lead.

The Beermen never looked back with Wilkerson not pulling his punches, keeping the Elite on their heels.

Blackwater played minus its two point guards in Mike Cortez and Jerick Cañada while its import MJ Rhett underperformed anew with only 12 points and 13 rebounds with five turnovers.

Carlo Lastimosa and JP Erram paced the Elite in scoring with 16 apiece. The Elite dropped their second consecutive game to fall to 2-3.