The pacesetting San Miguel Beermen roared to their seventh straight victory in the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference, drubbing the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 102-95, Sunday night at the Araneta Coliseum. Shaking off the rust from a 17-day layoff, the Beermen did not waste time to catch fire as they pulled away, 77-59, in the third quarter. Import Gabe Freeman led the Beermen with 26 points and 24 rebounds. The Beermen prevented the Painters from making a last-ditch comeback as they managed to contain Rain's or Shine's prized import Jai Lewis who they held down to 22 points and 12 rebounds. Before the game, the former George Mason U star averaged 26.2 points and 19.6 rebounds. The loss dropped Rain or Shine to third spot with a 5-win, 3-loss record, behind San Miguel (7-0) and Sta. Lucia Realty (5-2). In the second game, the Coca-Cola Tigers rode on the exploits of comebacking import James Penny to defeat the Alaska Aces, 89-85. Penny, who replaced JJ Sullinger, scored a game-high 36 points and a team-best 15 rebounds to lead the Tigers to only their second win in seven games. __
