MANILA: The San Miguel Beermen became the first of two teams to secure a twice-to-beat incentive in the 2010 – 2011 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs as they blacked out the Meralco Bolts 98-94 Friday night at the Cuneta Astrodome. Six Beermen scored in double figures in a relentless show of offensive might as San Miguel kept a firm grip of the top spot in the standings with its 11th win in 13 games. Dondon Hontiveros led SMB with 18 points while Joseph Yeo and Jay Washington both had 16 markers. The loss snapped Meralco's four-game winning streak as the Bolts fell into a tie for fifth to sixth place with the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados, both with a 6-6 win-loss card. Gabby Espinas topscored for Meralco with 20 points while Chris Ross and Macmac Cardona each scored 17 points. San Miguel also beat Meralco in their first meeting in the eliminations. In the first match of the double-header, the Barangay Ginebra Kings trounced the Powerade Tigers, 84-81, to once again assume solo second spot in the rankings with their ninth win in 12 games, thus boosting their chances of getting the other twice-to-beat edge in the playoffs after the elimination round. Ronald Tubid recorded a game-high 21 points. Trailing 61-66 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Kings launched a 15-5 blitz to seize the lead for good. Their 10th loss in 13 games pushed the Tigers to the brink of elimination. Powerade's only chance now to survive elimination is to win its last assignment against Alaska on Dec. 15 and hope that Air 21 (4-7) loses its three remaining games to force a playoff for the eighth and last quarterfinal spot.
