MANILA — The San Miguel Beermen bucked another dismal showing from their import to defeat the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 103-96, snapping a two-game losing streak in the PBA Governors’ Cup Wednesday night.

Chris Ross led four local SMB All-Stars in the win, scoring a conference-high 27 points, including 5-0f-8 from beyond the three-point arc, on top of three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and just one turnover in over 41 minutes.

Marcio Lassiter added 22 markers while Arwind Santos had 18 points and six boards. June Mar Fajardo was just as impressive with 17 points and 14 boards to help lift SMB to its fourth victory in seven games overall.

Import Terik Bridgeman once again proved to be a disappointment for SMB, spending more time on the bench after scoring a mere four points on 2-of-9 shooting and grabbing four rebounds while committing two turnovers in 15 minutes of play. In his PBA debut last Saturday against Alaska, Bridgeman scored only two points.

J’Nathan Bullock led ROS with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. Maverick Ahanmisi added 12 markers while Gabe Norwood and Mark Borboran chipped 10 points apiece.

SMB was comfortably ahead for most parts of the game. But with less than 6 minutes left, the Painters came to within six points, 90-84, of tying the match after a Norwood three-pointer. But Ross quickly struck back for SMB, scoring nine of his points to seal the win.

TNT KaTropa 113, Meralco 107

The TNT KaTropa Texters weathered a strong challenge from the Meralco Bolts before posting a 113-107 victory, their fifth in eight games. The lost was only the second for Meralco in 7 games.

Glen Rice Jr. posted 32 points and 11 rebounds while Jayson Castro tallied 27 markers as the Texters bounced back from a loss to GlobalPort last week.

Kelly Williams also played a major role in the win, finishing with 16 points, 13 boards and zero turnover. Roger Pogoy added 11 markers.

The victory boosted TNT’s hopes of landing in the Top 4 after the elimination round. The top 4 teams are guaranteed a twice-to-beat advantage in the knockout quarterfinals. TNT is currently at No. 4 behind the pacesetting Ginebra (6-1), NLEX (7-2) and Meralco (5-2). However, TNT faces three top contenders in its remaining elimination round games: NLEX, Star and Ginebra.

The Meralco loss wasted the mighty effort made by Allen Durham who scored 39 points and grabbed 24 rebounds. Baser Amer led Meralco’s locals with 21 points, 5 boards, and 4assists.

With TNT ahead by just two points, 107-105, with less than a minute left, Rice scored on a drive to the basket, followed by four free throws from Castro and Pogoy to seal the victory.

Games Friday: Alaska Aces (1-6) vs. GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-4)and Blackwater Elite (4-4) vs Barangay Ginebra Kings (6-1).