By REYNALD MAGALLON
Don Trollano and CJ Perez delivered the killing blows as San Miguel slammed the door on a fiery Rain or Shine comeback and hacked out a 120-111 victory to close in on a Top 4 spot in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Convention Center in Cagayan de Oro on Saturday, June 7.
The Beermen showed poise in the face of a scintillating fourth quarter rally from the Elasto Painters, regaining their footing with a pivotal 12-3 run to not only deny ROS the come-from-behind victory but also deal a blow to its bid of gaining a twice-to-beat advantage.
After Rain or Shine came too close for comfort, 102-103, midway through the final frame, Trollano scored two free throws and a booming triple to trigger the massive run that ended with a clutch four-pointer from Perez.
Perez’s long distance conversion made it 115-105 in favor of SMB after the Beermen almost completely squandered a once 25-point lead.
Perez led the way with 33 points to go with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals while Trollano added 20 points and nine rebounds.
June Mar Fajardo added 20 points and nine rebounds, including one in the opening frame that put him on top of the all-time rebounding leaderboard.
Marcio Lassiter added 16 for the Beermen which improved to a 7-2 record with still two games left in its schedule.
With the loss, ROS dropped to a 6-4 record.
Andrei Caracut paced the Elasto Painters with 24 points and seven assists while Adrian Nocum, who spearheaded the fourth quarter rally, finished with 22.
