Chris Ross vs 3 Meralco defenders. PBA IMAGES
San Miguel halted Meralco’s unbeaten streak with a 94-86 victory Saturday night in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Ibalong Centrum in Legazpi City.
The Beermen struggled to pull away from the pesky Bolts in a tightly contested affair, but managed to get a single digit breather in the payoff period en route to their third victory against a loss.
It was a case of déjà vu for both teams as San Miguel was also responsible for ending Meralco’s run in last year’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup, which also happened on the road in Cagayan de Oro.
San Miguel tried to gain a safe distance with under two minutes to play and pushed the lead to 89-87 on a jumper from June Mar Fajardo, but Meralco quickly closed in an trimmed it to three, 86-89.
Import Tyler Wilkerson, who was saddled with foul trouble in the first half, nailed two free throws to seal the win and knocked down a buzzer-beating three for good measure.
He still finished with 27 points despite being limited to seven minutes in the first two quarters for picking up four fouls.
Gabby Espinas led all locals with 13 points while Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter chipped in 10 apiece. Arwind Santos returned from a one-game layoff and contributed seven markers.
The Bolts’ first loss spoiled Arinze Onuako tremendous effort of 28 points and 30 boards.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 94 – Wilkerson 27, Espinas 13, Cabagnot 10, Lassiter 10, Fajardo 9, Ross 9, Santos 7, Arana 5, Lutz 4, Reyes 0, Semerad 0, De Ocampo 0.
MERALCO 86 – Onuaku 28, David 12, Faundo 8, Newsome 8, Buenafe 6, Dillinger 6, Hodge 4, Hugnatan 4, Alapag 2, Amer 2, Bono 2, Caram 2, Nabong 2.
Quarters: 19-13, 44-44, 62-63, 94-86