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| PBA |
By Ivan Saldajeno
PASAY--For the past few games, San Miguel got a provisional solo lead in the PBA Philippine Cup only for some others to join the team at the top later on.
On Saturday night, the Beermen got some pressure of sorts as the Alaska Aces entered the day the solo number one team as they won a game set earlier than that of the Beermen.
All it took was a fourth quarter surge for SMB to be back where the team had been all conference long.
The Beermen sizzled in the final quarter to repulse the Star Hotshots, 101-90, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
After Star opened the period with a 6-2 rally to draw to within two, San Miguel went on a 15-2 blitz to blow the game wide open and never looked back.
Junemar Fajardo led the Beermen, who won four straight and clinched at least a playoff for the quarterfinals berth, with 27 points, 16 rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal, while Arwind Santos contributed 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals.
James Yap tallied 22 markers, two boards, and one dime for the Hotshots, who dropped their fourth straight game.
The result also catapulted Alaska to at least a shot for the knockout stages.
Box Scores:
San Miguel 101-Fajardo 27, Santos 22, Cabagnot 11, Lassiter 10, Ross 9, Lutz 9, Espinas 8, Tubid 3, Araña 2, Reyes 0, De Ocampo 0, Heruela 0, Mabulac 0, Omolon 0
Star 90-Yap 22, Barroca 15, Simon 10, Taha 10, Pingris 7, Cruz 7, J. Pascual 6, Mallari 5, Sangalang 4, Torres 2, Maliksi 2, R. Pascual 0, Melton 0, Gaco 0
Quarterscores: 19-19, 43-41, 71-65, 101-90
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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