Defending champion San Miguel Beermen relied on the court savvy of veteran center Danny Ildefonso and the explosiveness of new point guard Alex Cabagnot to down Alaska Aces in overtime, 95-89, Sunday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference. Cabagnot topscored with 18 points on top of seven rebounds and seven assists. But it was Ildefonso who scored the crucial baskets and provided the key assists and rebounds in the fourth quarter and the overtime period He finished with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists. Its fourth win in five games catapulted San Miguel to solo leadership of the conference while its second straight loss dropped Alaska to the bottom of the standings at 0-2. The Aces could have won the game in the regulation period but Willie Miller missed the first of two free throws with 2.3 seconds left. He hit the second free throw to tie the score at 84-all. Miller tried to redeem himself in the overtime period but two of his shots were blocked by Arwind Santos, leading to quick transition baskets by the Beermen. In the first match of the double-header, Macmac Cardona and Ranidel de Ocampo scored 45 points between them, nearly half the output of their team, as the Talk N Text Tropang Texters smothered the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 102-89. Cardona scored 23 points while De Ocampo chipped in 22 points and 12 rebounds to power the Texters to their second straight win and third overall against two losses. Jason Castro also played a crucial role in the TNT win as he came off the bench to lead a blistering assault that enabled the Texters to pull away from the Realtors. Castro scored 19 points, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 at the free-throw line for 15 points in the first half alone. He scored 10 points in the second quarter as the Texters built their biggest lead at 22 points, 58-36. The Realtors made a last-ditch bid for a comeback in the fourth quarter, coming to within seven at 78-85. But they eventually ran out of steam as they picked their fourth loss in five games, their worst start under coach Boyet Fernandez. Anthony Johnson played a yeoman's job again, scoring seven points and hauling 16 rebounds. Kelly Williams also played one of his best games, knocking in 20 points and eight rebounds. But their individual efforts were not enough to bail out the Realtors who sufferend another heart
