SAN Miguel Beer held off Rain or Shine's spirited chase in the fourth quarter in a road game in Cagayan de Oro and hacked out a 120-111 victory that boosted their Top Four bid in the PBA Philippine Cup elims.
Before a good Saturday crowd at the Cagayan de Oro Convention Center, the Beermen showed the stuff they're made of, thwarting a late-charging ROS side to fortify their position in a rumble for a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
CJ Perez and Don Trollano sizzled for 33 and 24 points, respectively, and themselves delivered the crucial buckets that sealed their seventh win against two losses.
The Beermen firmed up their place at second behind the frontrunning NLEX Road Warriors (8-2) while sending the Elasto Painters down to joint sixth with the Converge FiberXers at 6-4.
At 7-2, June Mar Fajardo and Co. are still in the hunt for top seeding in the playoffs. They'll accomplishment that goal with a sweep of their last two games against the Converge FiberXers and the NorthPort Batang Pier.
Sponsored content:
Meanwhile, the Elasto Painters' Top Four bid is in the balance. Nonetheless, they go for a 7-4 closing card as they play the Barangay Ginebra Kings on June 15.
The Beermen had looked on the way to an easy victory when they led by as many as 25 but then found the E-Painters chipping away and getting into the game in the fourth period.
A drive-in basket by Adrian Nocum capped a big run that had the E-Painters coming to within a point at 102-103 with still 4:46 left to play.
The Beermen, however, showed poise and composure, then went to Perez and Trollano for the key buckets to ward off the E-Painters.
Perez finished with 33 points that went with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals against five turnovers while Trollano grabbed four boards and took also three steals to go with his 24 markers.
Sponsored content:
Fajardo narrowly missed a double-double with 20 markers and nine boards as Marcio Lassiter contributed 16 points with 2-of-3 three-pointers.
Andrei Caracut, Nocum and Jhonard Clarito took the cudgels for the ROS, firing away 24, 22 and 17 points, respectively.(SB)
The scores:
San Miguel 120 - Perez 33, Trollano 24, Fajardo 20, Lassiter 16, Tiongson 8, Cruz 6, Brondial 4, Ross 4, Cahilig 3, Tautuaa 2.
Rain or Shine 111 - Caracut 24, Nocum 22, Clarito 17, Datu 12, Santillan 10, Mamuyac 9, Tiongson 7, Porter 5, Asistio 5, Norwood 0.
Quarterscores: 30-25, 60-43, 93-78, 120-111
