San Miguel snaps Meralco’s undefeated record

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Meralco Bolts’ unblemished start to the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup came to an end at the hands of the San Miguel Beermen, 94-86, during an out-of-town game on Saturday, March 5, in Legazpi City.

The Beermen outlasted the Bolts in a back-and-forth exchange throughout the contest by coming up with key stops and baskets down the stretch.

The win puts San Miguel in a tie with Alaska at 3-1 for the second best record in the PBA standings, while Meralco still leads the league with a 5-1 state.

Import Tyler Wilkerson led San Miguel with 27 points and 10 rebounds while June Mar Fajardo had 9 points and 16 boards. Both guys struggled from the field by combining to go 8-of-28, while San Miguel as a team hit only 37% of its field goals.

Gabby Espinas and Alex Cabagnot both played well off the bench with 13 and 10 points, respectively. 

Meralco was led by its import Arinze Onuaku who had another outstanding showing with 28 points and 30 boards. Gary David also pitched in with 12 points off the bench, but no other Bolt scored in double-figures. 

Meralco dominated the scoring in the paint, 58-32, but hit just 4-of-21 from deep while San Miguel nailed 9-of-24. The Beermen also went 27-of-40 from the foul stripe while the Bolts converted just 6-of-17.

San Miguel started to pull away when it used a 7-2 run to extend its lead to 86-78 with 2:16 to go. The Bolts, however, cut the deficit to 4 following baskets by Onuaku and Cliff Hodge.

With 1:28 remaining, Fajardo completed an and-one play to put his club back up 89-82. Onuaku then hit two baskets to make it a 3-point game, but since only 16 seconds remained on the clock, Meralco was forced to send San Miguel to the free throw line.

Wilkerson hit a pair to put the Beermen up 91-86 with 14 seconds left. Following a time-out, David turned the ball over after a bad pass, sealing his team’s first defeat.

The Bolts will look to bounce back on Friday, March 11, against the NLEX Road Warriors. San Miguel’s next game takes place against Rain or Shine on the same day. Both matches will be played at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

Scores:

San Miguel (94): Wilkerson 27, Espinas 13, Cabagnot 10, Lassiter 10, Fajardo 9, Ross 9, Santos 7, Arana 5, Lutz 4, Reyes 0, Semerad 0, De Ocampo 0 

Meralco (86): Onuaku 28, David 12, Faundo 8, Newsome 8, Buenafe 6, Dillinger 6, Hodge 4, Hugnatan 4, Alapag 2, Amer 2, Bono 2, Caram 2, Nabong 2

Quarter scores: 19-13, 44-44, 62-63, 94-86 – Rappler.com