Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The Alaska Aces brought down the giant June Mar Fajardo and his league-leading San Miguel Beermen, 103-97, Wednesday night in the PBA Philippine Cup to stay in the hunt for a top-two finish and the outright semifinals seat that goes with it.
The gutsy Aces survived Fajardo’s monstrous game of a career-high 43 points and 20 rebounds to nail their eighth win in 10 games—typing Rain or Shine’s win-loss card. The two squads can tie SMB’s record with a win in their last assignment—Alaska vs. Barako Bull and Rain or Shine vs. NLEX, both games set on Dec. 19. The Beermen ended the elimination with a 9-2 record.
Sonny Thoss led Alaska with 18 points. Calvin Abueva posted a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds on top of five assists. Chris Banchero added 17 markers.
The Beermen erased a double-digit Alaska lead in the second half, but the Aces closed out the game on a 10-3 run for the win.
Aside from Fajardo, only two other Beermen scored in double digits—Alex Cabagnot with 19 and Arwind Santos with 10.
Rain or Shine 97, Meralco 87
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters had to fight mightily before overcoming a gallant challenge put up by the Meralco Bolts, 97-87, thus moving closer to snaring one of two automatic semifinal slots.
Jeff Chan led ROS with 24 points while center Raymund Almazan had a huge double-double of 21 points and 17 rebounds. Jericho Cruz added 13 markers.
ROS posted its eighth win in 10 outings. Meralco bid goodbye to the conference after losing all its games except one—its worst finish since it joined the league.
Jared Dillinger led the Bolts with 15 points while rookies Baser Amer and Chris Newsome added 13 and 12, respectively. Jimmy Alapag chipped in 10 points and four assists. Their top gunner Gary David was held scoreless in 14 minutes on the floor.
The Bolts gave it their all in a bid to finish the conference on a positive note despite their dismal campaign. The Painters had “to bleed”—as their coach Yeng Guiao described it—before overcoming the gritty Bolts.
Meralco erected a 10-point lead in the third quarter and was still ahead, 73-71, early in the final period. But the Painters unleashed withering firepower in the end to finally send the Bolts into an early vacation as ROS outscored Meralco, 30-21, in the fourth quarter.
Games Friday: Talk N Text Tropang Texters (5-4) vs. GlobalPort Batang Pier (7-3) and Star Hotshots (3-7) vs. Blackwater Elite (2-7).
