Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — With reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo scoring almost at will, the defending champion San Miguel Beermen drubbed the Mahindra Enforcers, 102-86, Wednesday night to grab the solo lead in the PBA Philippine Cup.
It was SMB’s fifth straight win and seventh overall in eight games, making the Beermen the hottest team in the league.
Fajardo played his usual monster game, churning out 35 points, 11 rebounds and, three blocks in 34 minutes on the floor.
New acquisition Brian Heruela, formerly from Blackwater, played his best game yet for SMB, finishing with 14 points, five assists and three rebounds in 21 minutes of play. Ronald Tubid and Arwind Santos added 11 points apiece while JayR Reyes chipped in with 10.
Mahindra fell to a 2-6 win-loss card, tying idle Star at ninth to 10th place.
Aldrech Ramos led the Enforcers with 13 points and seven boards. Rookie Bradwyn Guinto and KG Canaleta added 12 markers apiece.
GlobalPort 96, NLEX 90
The GlobalPort Batang Pier saw their 18-point lead chopped to two before turning back the hard-fighting NLEX Road Warriors, 96-90, to secure at least a quarterfinals berth.
GlobalPort nailed its second straight victory and fifth overall in eight games to take hold of solo fifth place in the standings.
NLEX absorbed a second straight defeat to drop to an even 4-4 mark, tying idle Barangay Ginebra at sixth to seventh place.
The Batang Pier was led once again by its two backcourt stars Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle who combined for 56 points — more than half of the team total output — with Romeo pumping 29 and Pringle 27. Keith Jensen added 14 points.
GlobalPort appeared on its way for a blowout victory after erecting several 18-point leads, the last at 75-57 late in the third quarter.
But the Road Warriors suddenly began breathing fire, slashing GlobalPort’s lead to just 92-90 with less than two minutes left.
GlobalPort cranked up its defense, however, putting the Road Warriors’ run to a screeching halt while scoring the last four points of the game to seal the win.
The Batang Pier’s defense held the Road Warriors to a dismal 36-percent (32-of-89) shooting.
Ageless Asi Taulava made good on his earlier vow to bounce back from a sub-par performance the last time out by leading NLEX with 29 points, 12 boards, four assists, one block, and one steal. But his monster game was still not enough to complete an NLEX comeback.
Sean Anthony and Jonas Villanueva were the only other double-digit scorers for NLEX with 17 and 10 points, respectively.
Games Thursday: Barako Bull Energy (3-4) vs. Talk N Text Tropang Texters (4-2) and Meralco Bolts (1-7) vs. Alaska Aces (6-1).
