SMB BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN
With June Mar Fajardo back in MVP form, the San Miguel Beermen got back to their winning ways.
Fajardo put in an overpowering performance with 28 points and 18 rebounds as San Miguel topped Rain or Shine, 97-92, in the PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
The 6-foot-10 Cebuano behemoth came through with these hulking double-double numbers after being held down to 13 points in their sorry loss to the Alaska Aces during the conference opener Sunday.
It was actually his biggest game since last conference or from the closing run of the Commissioner’s Cup where they were ambushed by Asi Taulava and the Air21 Express in the quarterfinals.
They felt the heat even in this game – literally and figuratively in the case of team consultant Todd Purves who took off his coat while coaching in some stretches of the game.
Import Reggie Williams and Chris Ross helped Fajardo ease the pressure before the Beermen eventually pulled through and handed the E-Painters a second straight loss in the season-ending tourney.
The Beermen caught up with the Aces, the Barako Bull Energy and the GlobalPort Batang Pier at 1-1 behind the Air21 Express, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers and the Talk n Text Tropang Texters who won their respective conference debuts.
SMB was ahead by a solitary point at 88-87 when Williams fired a trey and then Ross scored on a spinning move to open a 93-87 lead for the Beermen entering the final minute of the contest.
Williams finished with 29 points and 13 rebounds while Ross made just four markers but got away with 11 rebounds, five steals and five assists.
Arizona Reid led the losing team with 27 markers, 18 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block against five turnovers.
To no avail, Reid took his turn to defend Fajardo with Raymond Almazan and Beau Belga both picking up six fouls.
Fajardo, the leading MVP contender, raised his game notches higher, going 9-of-17 from the two-point area and 10-of-13 from the stripe.
Still, ROS found a way to compete, rallying from a 12-point deficit in the first half and dragging the Beermen to a nip-and-tuck battle in the fourth quarter.
The E-Painters even enjoyed a five-point cushion at 76-71 on a tough drive by Jireh Ibanes and a fastbreak layup by Jeff Chan.
But the Beermen won’t let the E-Painters pull away any further.
Williams and Fajardo joined forces to win the game for SMB in the end. (SB)
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL BEER 97 – Williams 29, Fajardo 28, Santos 10, Lassiter 8, Maierhofer 7, Tubid 5, Ross 4, Lutz 4, Chua 2, Lanete 0, Kramer 0, Mercado 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 92 – Reid 27, Lee 13, Tiu 11, Almazan 9, Chan 9, Rodriguez 8, Norwood 5, Uyloan 3, Cruz 2, Arana 2, Ibanes 2, Nuyles 1, Belga 0.
Quarterscores: 21-11, 44-42, 66-68, 97-92
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