Chris Ross took matters into his own hands come the closing minutes to help the San Miguel Beermen ward off the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 103-96, and end their two-game slump, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
With the game’s result, both squads now sport a similar 4-3 card.
“Finally, we were able to get a win,” said an elated SMB head coach Leo Austria. “We are not playing the way we want to. Na-relieve yung team namin dahil we can’t afford to have three straight losses this conference.
“I’m happy for the players na nakita nila yung energy, even our bench players stepped up,” he asserted.
Ross was undoubtedly Wednesday night’s star, as he topped the Beermen with 27 points on 55.6 percent shooting from the field, alongside three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Marcio Lassiter supplied 22 markers.
With RoS closing within distance, 84-90, with 5:05 left in the match, Ross scored nine straight points — sparked by a pull-up triple in the 4:44 mark — afterwards to lift San Miguel to a favorable 101-92 lead with exactly a minute left.
The Elasto Painters still put up another gallant stand and inched within five, 101-96, but the Beermen made sure that it would be their final hurrah, as Arwind Santos nailed both of his charities with seven ticks left to make it 103-96.
A missed James Yap trey on the other end sealed the needed victory for SMB.
Santos provided 18 points and six rebounds for the Beermen, while star center June Mar Fajardo appeared to have regained his old form as he produced 17 points and 14 rebounds in the 36 minutes he logged in.
Terik Bridgeman once again was a non-factor for SMB, scoring four on nine attempts in 15 minutes. This game will be the American cager’s last in the PBA, as new import Terrence Watson had arrived in the country just this morning.
J’Nathan Bullock led Rain or Shine with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in the streak-ending loss. Maverick Ahanmisi scored 12, while Gabe Norwood and Mark Borboran each chipped in 10 markers.
San Miguel will have their hands full versus the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Sunday, September 10, 6:45 PM still at the Big Dome. Rain or Shine, meanwhile, will aim to bounce back versus the Phoenix Fuel Masters next Wednesday, September 13, 4:15 PM at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Scores:
San Miguel 103 – Ross 27, Lassiter 22, Santos 18, Fajardo 17, Cabagnot 8, Rosser 5, Bridgeman 4, Espinas 2, Pessumal 0, Tubid 0.
Rain or Shine 96 – Bullock 22, Ahanmisi 12, Norwood 10, Borboran 10, Belga 8, Yap 8, Daquioag 8, Ponferada 6, Tiu 5, Almazan 5, Trollano 2, Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 32-23, 55-39, 75-70, 103-96.
