PBA IMAGE 2 – Mick Pennisi vs Roger Yap
PBA IMAGE 3 – James Yap vs Lorde Tugade
PBA IMAGE 4 – Lorde tugade vs KG Canaleta and Rafi reavis
PBA IMAGE 5 - KG Canaleta and Rafi reavis and Dorian Pena (back)
PBA IMAGE 6 – Arwind Santos vs Paul Artadi and marc Pingris
PBA IMAGE 7 – Rico Maierhofer and Kerby Raymundo vs Dorian Pena, Arwind Santos and Olcen Racela
PBA IMAGE 8 – marc Pingris vs Mick Pennisi
PBA IMAGE 9 – James Yap vs Dondon Hontiveros and Jonas Villanueva
San Miguel Beer overcame a late rally by Purefoods TJ Hotdogs as it eked out a victory Sunday night to stay within striking distance of leader Alaska Milk in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Dondon Hontiveros and Arwind Santos each spewed 18 points while Denok Miranda and Mike Cortez added 15 and 11 points, respectively, to send the Beermen to their 10th win against four losses, just one game behind the Aces’ conference-best 10-1 slate.
It was the Giants’ fifth setback against eight triumphs to fall to solo fifth place from a share of No. 3 with the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, which both tote 8-4 records.
“The bottomline is defense, we made key stops,” said San Miguel head coach Siot Tanquingcen.
Coming off a 122-116 OT loss to Alaska last Wednesday, the Beermen were comfortably ahead 84-69 with 3:07 left when Purefoods came up with an 11-0 run to close in at 80-84 on a triple by Kerby Raymundo with 43 ticks remaining.
Not helping San Miguel Beer’s cause was its missing seven straight free throws, four from Miranda, in the final two and half minutes.
But key defensive gems by the Beermen resulted in free throws from Miranda and Santos and it proved enough cushion until the end.
The Giants, who saw their four-game win streak come to an end, turned things around a bit in their favor as Roger Yap, who starred in his team’s last two games, poured in seven points including five from the foul line to help close the gap, 54-61, going into the final canto.
Purefoods actually became more aggressive as it pounded it inside, resulting in 10 trips to the free throw area where it sank seven of them, five by Roger Yap.
Dondon Hontiveros waxed hot early and unleashed a nine-point barrage as he drained all his three shots including a booming triple to power the Beermen to a 22-15 lead after the opening period.
Marc Pingris tried to will the Giants back into the game as he bullied his way to eight points on a perfect eight-of-eight shooting clip in the second quarter but the Beermen still outscored them, 20-19, to hike their advantage to 42-34 at the break.
During the first half, Hontiveros scattered 11 points to spearhead San Miguel while Pingris ended up making all his five shots for 10 points he spiked with six boards, two assists and a steal. (JV)
The scores:
San Miguel Beer 87- Hontiveros 18, Santos 18, Miranda 15, Cortez 11, Pennisi 8, Villanueva 5, Tugade 5, Seigle 5, Holper 2, Racela 0, Pena 0
Purefoods 80- Raymundo 14, Pingris 13, Canaleta 12, R. Yap 12, Artadi 9, J. Yap 9, Allado 7, Maeirhofer 2, Reavis 2, Timberlake 0
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