The San Miguel Beermen notched its third straight victory after surviving a gallant stand from the Star Hotshots to take a 100-89 win Sunday in the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Arizona Reid fueled the Beermen’s pristine start, firing 15 in the first half before winding up with 29 pointd, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists.
June Mar Fajardo meanwhile made his presence felt underneath, achieving a double-double on 21 points and 20 rebounds while shooting 7-for-11 from the field.
San Miguel jumped to a 46-29 halftime lead, limiting Star to only four assists and 28 percent from the floor after the first two chapters.
But the Hotshots responded in the third frame and with Reid picking up his fourth personal foul midway, head coach Tim Cone’s wards attacked the interior, pouring 35 points in the third quarter alone to slice the deficit down to 64-71 heading into the payoff period.
From there, it was a back and forth tussle with both teams in a heated affair which saw Arwind Santos ejected after taunting Star import Marqus Blakely. It was Santos’ second technical foul while Cone, Leo Austria, Marc Pingris, and Star team Governor Rene Pardo all accruing technical fouls.
A triple by James Yap pulled the Hotshots within five, 87-92, but back-to-back jumpers by Reid under the final two minutes in between an Alex Mallari connection made it 96-89 for the Beermen.
Blakely had a chance to trim the margin after getting fouled but missed both charities, spelling trouble for the Hotshots, which dropped to 1-3 in the conference.
The Beermen meanwhile scored its third straight win to improve to 3-2 overall.
The Scores
San Miguel (100) – Reid 29, Fajardo 21, Ross 14, Cabagnot 13, Santos 12, Lassiter 6, Tubid 3, Omolon 2, Lutz 0, Espinas 0
Star (89) – Blakely 29, Barroca 15, Yap 11, Mallari 9, Pennisi 8, Devance 5, Melton 4, Maliksi 4, Pingris 4, Simon 0
Quarters: 22-16, 46-29, 71-64, 100-89
