MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel kept its immaculate record in the PBA Governors’ Cup spotless at the expense of winless Magnolia after staging a 100-98 escape at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, February 5.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Beermen as they notched their fourth straight victory to start the conference and forced a three-way logjam at the top spot with fellow unbeaten squads Converge and NLEX.

Import Cameron Clark posted a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double and scored a crucial bucket with under 1:30 minutes left that gave San Miguel enough cushion to survive the Hotshots’ last-ditch comeback.

Clark collared an offensive rebound off a CJ Perez miss and converted on a putback for a 100-91 lead before Magnolia fired 7 unanswered points – the last 4 coming from Calvin Abueva – to get a crack at its first win.

A pair of missed free throws from Perez with 10 ticks left gave the Hotshots one last shot at either forcing overtime or stealing the victory, but Paul Lee missed a contested three-pointer as time expired.

Marcio Lassiter sank 6 triples to finish with 18 points on top of 4 rebounds and 4 assists, MVP frontrunner June Mar Fajardo put up 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Perez supplied 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Simon Enciso chimed in 12 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals as a starter for the Beermen and Jericho Cruz contributed 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals off the bench.

While Clark proved to be a stabilizer for San Miguel, Magnolia import Eric McCree struggled anew with just 13 points on a dismal 1-of-10 clip from three-point land as the Hotshots remained without a win after three games.

McCree scored just 3 points in the second half and ended up a non-factor during the Magnolia fightback.

Lee netted 19 points and 4 assists for the Hotshots, Jio Jalalon recorded 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, and 5 assists, while Mark Barroca chipped in 13 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

Abueva tallied 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals in the loss.

The Scores

San Miguel 100 – Clark 19, Lassiter 18, Perez 17, Fajardo 16, Cruz 13, Enciso 12, Brondial 3, Manuel 2, Bulanadi 0.

Magnolia 98 – Lee 19, Jalalon 17, Mccree 13, Barroca 13, Abueva 11, Escoto 9, Laput 9, Dela Rosa 4, Wong 3, Reavis 0, Corpuz 0.

Quarters: 26-29, 47-51, 79-70, 100-98.

– Rappler.com