Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — The San Miguel Beermen finally won their first game after four straight losses, bringing down the erstwhile undefeated Meralco Bolts, 102-86, in a PBA Commissioner's Cup road game Saturday night in Cagayan de Oro City. The Beermen took full advantage of the loss of Meralco import Josh Davis to injury in the first half as new SMB import Arizona Reid and reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo dominated both ends of the court against an undersized Meralco local crew. Reid, a former import of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters who came in to replace SMB reinforcement Ronald Roberts early this week, led the Beermen with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Fajardo played his best game yet in the conference, posting 21 points and 22 rebounds. Chris Ross also sparkled for SMB, scoring 17 points, nine of them in the fourth quarter. Arwind Santos added 12 markers. Despite the win, the Beermen remained at the bottom of the standings in the company of Blackwater Elite and NLEX Road Warriors, all with a 1-4 win-loss card. Meralco suffered its first loss in the conference but still shared the top spot with sister team Talk N Text, both with a 5-1 record. The Bolts and Beermen were locked in a tight contest in the first half. But Meralco suddenly found itself with a huge handicap after the 6'8” Davis landed hard on his back while trying to block a shot by the 6'10” Fajardo in the second quarter. Davis had to be wheeled on a stretcher and brought to the Meralco dugout. Although he was later able to rejoin his teammates on the bench in the second half, Davis was never inserted back into the game. He finished with just four points, five rebounds and one assist in 13 minutes of action. The score was tied at 30-all before Davis suffered the ugly fall. The Beermen quickly pounced on the import-less Bolts to finish the first half with a 45-40 advantage. Using their height advantage to the fullest, the Beermen padded their lead to as many as 21 points, 100-79, late in the fourth quarter. Gary David was the only Meralco player in double digits with 23 points. John Wilson, Cliff Hodge and Reynel Hugnatan added nine points each. Games Sunday: GlobalPort Batang Pier vs. Blackwater Elite; Purefoods Star Hotshots vs. Barangay Ginebra Kings.
