SMB seizes share of lead

PANABO CITY—San Miguel Beer broke away in the third quarter to deal Powerade a 119-94 whipping in a PBA Philippine Cup road game presented by Phoenix Fuel yesterday at the Panabo Sports Center here.

The Beermen, who grabbed a piece of the elimination-round lead, came up with a series of scoring runs to bloat a 12-point halftime lead to 22 entering the fourth quarter.

San Miguel’s second straight victory gave it a 3-1 record, in a tie for the top spot with idle Alaska and Talk ‘N Text.

Dondon Hontiveros scored 27 points, Arwind Santos had 25 and three others finished with 11 or more as the Beermen proved too hot to handle for the Tigers, who dropped to an even 2-2 record.

Mick Pennisi drained two triples in a six-minute span in the third quarter, helping the Beermen scoot away with 37 points in the period, just two shy of what Powerade scored in the entire first half.

San Miguel knocked down a total of seven triples in the third period alone, with Hontiveros connecting thrice and Denok Miranda adding another.

Gary David finished with 21 points to pace Powerade, which had only Ren-Ren Ritualo as the other double-digit scorer with 19.

Meanwhile, crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine shoot for their second straight victories against separate opponents today as the elimination round shifts back to the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.

The Gin Kings, fresh from a 93-74 destruction of Barako Bull on Friday, battle sister team and defending champion Derby Ace in the 6:30 p.m. game.

The Elasto Painters lock horns with newcomer Meralco at 4.

Despite the rout, Gin Kings coach Jong Uichico said there’s still a lot of work to be done and they would need a better team effort in facing title contenders.

Derby Ace is one of those teams, even if the Llamados continue to be without their three best big men in Rafi Reavis, Marc Pingris and perennial Mythical Team member Kerby Raymundo.

The Llamados broke through against the Bolts last week and, just like Ginebra, are seeking to take the momentum of that win into tonight’s contest.

“It’s a good win obviously, because we got our morale back. Hopefully, we can carry this over into Sunday’s [today against Derby Ace] game.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Uichico added.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 119 —Hontiveros 27, Santos 25, Tugade 14, Miranda 14, Pennisi 11, Cabagnot 8, Pena 8, Artadi 5, Racela 4, Canta 3.
POWERADE 94 —David 21, Ritualo 19, Lanete 9, Gonzales 9, Espino 7, Mendoza 7, Rizada 6, Calimag 4, Antonio 4, Laure 2, Reyes J. 2, Reyes R. 2, Macapagal 2.

Quarters: 21-25, 51-39, 88-66, 119-94

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