MANILA — The San Miguel Beermen snapped the Meralco Bolts' five-game winning streak while posting their third straight win with a 94-86 victory in a PBA Commissioner's Cup road game in Legazpi, Albay Saturday. SMB thus tied idle Alaska at second to third spot in the team standings, both with a 3-1 win-loss card. Despite the loss, Meralco (5-1) remained firmly on top. Import Tyler Wilkerson shrugged off early foul trouble to finish with a team-high 27 points and 10 boards. Gabby Espinas added 13 points while Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter chipped in 10 markers apiece. Meralco's bruising defense limited reigning back-to-back MVP June Mar Fajardo to just six points on two-of-12 shooting.The 6'10" stalwart center made up for his shooting woes by grabbing 16 rebounds. The Bolts were led once again by their hard-working import, Arinze Onuaku, who posted 26 points and a whopping 30 boards. Things did not start well for SMB as Wilkerson was whistled for three consecutive early fouls, forcing SMB coach Leo Austria to bench him after just about three minutes on the floor. Austria tapped Espinas to replace Wilkerson, and the former Alaska forward did not disappoint, scoring six straight points including a rare three-pointer. Down by eight points, 19-11 in the first quarter, the Bolts came charging back in the second canto as Gary David scored seven straight points. Ryan Buenafe drained two straight three-pointers, giving Meralco a 44-39 lead. However, a Lassiter basket and two free throws by Wilkerson tied the game at 44-all at halftime. Both teams engaged in a fierce skirmish in the third quarter. The Beermen finally took command of the game in the final period with a 10-2 run, giving SMB an 84-76 edge with 3:15 left. The Bolts cut the deficit to four, 86-82. But Meralco lost the momentum when Kelly Nabong was ejected for a flagrant foul penalty two after hitting Fajardo hard on the neck while the latter was going for a layup. Fajardo split his charities but followed it up with a jumper to push SMB's lead to seven, 89-82, with a minute left. Onuaku scored two straight putbacks to cut SMB's lead to three, 89-86, with 16.2 second remaining. But Wilkerson countered with two free throws and then a triple to seal the victory for the Beermen. Games Sunday: Globalport Batang Pier (2-3) vs. Blackwater Elite (2-3) and Star Hotshots (1-4) vs. Tropang TNT (2-3).
