JAY R. GOTERA
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — With yet another monster performance from June Mar Fajardo, the defending champion San Miguel Beermen streaked to their fourth straight win and sixth overall in seven games, overpowering the plummeting Star Hotshots, 101-90, Saturday night in the PBA Philippine Cup.
SMB thus tied idle Alaska at the top of standings while Star fell to 10th place with its fourth straight defeat and five overall against two wins.
Fajardo, the league’s reigning and back-to-back MVP, finished with 27 points and 16 boards as he proved unstoppable at the paint.
Arwind Santos provided strong support, posting 22 points, including four three-pointers, and seven rebounds.
The Beermen also excelled in defense, forcing the Hotshots to 19 turnovers.
SMB was up by12 in the third quarter but Star managed to trim the lead to two, 71-69, after a jumper from debuting rookie Mark Cruz early in the fourth quarter.
But Santos sparked a 15-4 run to give SMB a 13-point advantage, 86-73, sending the Hotshots packing for the night.
James Yap led Star with 22 points to lead Star but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Mahindra 86, Meralco 83
In a battle between two teams tied at the bottom, the Mahindra Enforcers proved to be steadier in the clutches, holding off the Meralco Bolts, 86-83, for only their second win in seven games.
The victory was good enough to lift the Enforcers three notches up to solo ninth place as they jumped over the Blackwater Elite (1-5) and the Star Hotshots (2-6) following the latter’s loss to the San Miguel Beermen in Saturday night’s main game.
Their seventh loss in eight games glued the Bolts to the bottom of the standings.
Meralco suffered yet another endgame meltdown. Up by four, 76-72, in the final minutes, the Bolts had no answer when the Enforcers unleashed a 10-0 barrage.
The Bolts, however, still had a chance to send the game into extra period with the Enforcers up, 86-83, but a last-second three-pointer by Jimmy Alapag was cleanly blocked by LA Revilla, preserving Mahindra’s victory.
Aldrech Ramos led Mahindra with 15 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes.
Mark Yee also stood out with 14 points, seven of them in the final quarter, on top of eight rebounds. Revilla and rookie Kyle Pascual added 12 points each while another rookie John Pinto chipped in 10.
Gary David led Meralco with 18 points, Rabeh al-Hussaini had 15 while Cliff Hodge posted 14 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. Alapag and Baser Amer chimed in 10 apiece.
Games Sunday: Blackwater Elite (1-5) vs. GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-3) and Barangay Ginebra Kings (4-3) vs. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5-1).
