San Miguel remains flawless with easy win over Mahindra


By Patrick Sutare

PASAY--San Miguel kept its record unblemished in the PBA Commissioner's Cup after rolling over an easy win against Mahindra, 109-80, Wednesday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Looking much as if serving a basketball clinic, the Beermen schooled the Floodbuster from start to finish.

Alex Cabagnot set the pace for the streaking Beermen, running roughshod of a seemingly befaddled Mahindra defense in as early as the first quarter where he scored 16 of his 26 total points. He also dished out four assists and hauled eight boards.

Despite having the presence of playing coach Manny Pacquiao on the sidelines for the first time in the midseason conference, the Floodbuster still failed to get over the hump.

They now dropped their fourth straight assignment, putting them on a serious trouble given the short-natured format of the tournament.

The complete flip side, meanwhile, is the red-hot SMB as they continue to be the gauge in the league.

Now at 4-0, the Beermen have now won seven straight games dating back from Game 3 of the Philippine Cup Finals against Ginebra where they seized the Perpetual Championship.

Charles Rhodes finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds for SMB, as Marcio Lassiter added 18 markers.

With the result of the game being virtually decided early, SMB coach Leo Austria took the opportunity to rest prized big man Junemar Fajardo, who he said is a bit banged up.

The reigning MVP played just eight minutes while going empty from the field.

Keith Wright registered 16 points and 12 rebounds for Mahindra, which as of posting is at 11th place with a 1-6 record, just a game ahead of the last place NLEX.

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