San Miguel drops Commissioner’s Cup opener to Mahindra

MANILA, Philippines – The Beermen may have the most championships over the last two PBA seasons, but the Enforcers still have their number.

Mahindra made it 3 wins in a row in import-laden conferences over San Miguel following a hard-earned 102-96 victory at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna on Saturday, February 20. 

Thanks to some big 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter by veteran KG Canaleta and some timely scoring from LA Revilla, Mahindra improved to 2-1 in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. 

San Miguel, which is coming off a 0-3 comeback in last conference’s finals, dropped to 0-1.

Aldrech Ramos led the way with 26 points and 8 boards off the bench, while LA Revilla and KG Canaleta posted 19 and 15 points, respectively.

Mahindra’s import, Augustus Gilchrist, recorded 15 points and 13 boards, but was outplayed by San Miguel’s import, Tyler Wilkerson, who posted 29 points and 12 rebounds in his debut.

Arwind Santos spotted 17 points while Marcio Lassiter had 14 off the bench. Playing just a little over 31 minutes, June Mar Fajardo had only 8 points.

“[It was a] very tough game for us coming from a loss,” Mahindra coach Chito Victolero said post match. “We just need that mental toughness in the end.”

Canaleta stepped up late when he hit 3 straight triples that turned a 85-84 deficit for Mahindra into a 93-86 lead.

After Lassiter cut the lead later to 93-90, Revilla completed an and-one play to make it another 6-point game. 

The Enforcers held on the rest of the way thanks to some quality free throw shooting and Karl Dehesa’s ability to get the ball off a jump ball when their lead cut down to 3 with 99-96 to go.

Scores:

Mahindra (102): Ramos 26, Revilla 19, Canaleta 15, Gilchrist 15, Dehesa 10, Guinto 9, Digregorio 4, Pinto 2, Yee 2, Webb 0, Jaime 0

San Miguel (96): Wilkerson 29, Santos 17, Lassiter 14, Arana 8, Fajardo 8, Ross 8, Heruela 5, Tubid 4, Espinas 3, Lutz 0, Reyes 0

Quarter scores: 24-23, 51-45, 74-69, 102-96 – Rappler.com