The San Miguel Beermen returned to the win column with a decisive 81-66 victory over Barangay Ginebra Sunday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena.
Mo Tautuaa spearheaded the Beermen's offense with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Ross was equally impressive as he filled the stat sheet with 11 points, 14 boards, four assists, and four steals.
In a battle of momentum-shifting runs, San Miguel scored enough baskets in the fourth quarter to earn its sixth win for a 6-4 card, arresting its two-game skid. Ginebra, on the other hand, failed to clinch the top seed and slid to 7-3.
With the victory, San Miguel's win-loss record tied Meralco, Alaska, and Magnolia, creating a log jam in the middle of the standings with the playoffs just around the corner.
"I think the players were motivated by our situation right now because of our status," said San Miguel coach Leo Austria, stressing the close race to the playoffs. "Those teams at the bottom are slowly catching up, especially NLEX."
The Beermen were eager to avenge their embarrassing 34-point loss to NLEX two nights ago and vented their anger on the Gin Kings early in the game. They put on a clinic on both ends of the floor in the second quarter, outscoring their opponent, 26-14, to take a 53-36 halftime lead.
After being down by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, Ginebra unleashed a vicious rally of its own, erasing the deficit with a 17-0 blast to get back into the fray. San Miguel's lead was cut to eight, 64-56, entering the fourth.
Ginebra got 13 points from Japeth Aguilar followed by Scottie Thompson's near triple-double of 12 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists. Unfortunately for the Gin Kings, Stanley Pringle's seven points on 3-for-10 shooting and LA Tenorio's 0-point production were hard to overcome.
In the final frame, the pace of the game slowed down significantly and points were suddenly hard to come by. San Miguel, however, kept Ginebra at arm's length and were able to hold a double-digit advantage for the rest of the way.
"With this win, I think we have a little bit of an advantage," said Austria. "I have to commend the players especially the veterans at the start. I think this is the best start we had but in the bubble, but it's really hard for a four or five [winning] streak. Sooner or later you're really going to have a bad game."
THE SCORES
SAN MIGUEL 81 - Tautuaa 20, Lassiter 12, Ross 11, Gamalinda 11, Cabagnot 11, Pessumal 7, Santos 7, Zamar 2, Comboy 0, Escoto 0
BARANGAY GINEBRA 66 - Aguilar 13, Thompson 12, Mariano 11, Tolentino 8, Caperal 7, Pringle 7, Chan 2, Dillinger 2, R. Aguilar 2, Dela Cruz 2, Devance 0, Tenorio 0, Balanza 0
Quarters : 27-22, 53-36, 64-56, 81-66
EXTRA DRIBBLES
Mo Tautuaa quickly eclipsed his 10-point total in his previous game by scoring 12 points in the first quarter alone.
Art Dela Cruz played his first game for Ginebra in the bubble after missing time due to injury. He logged in 22 minutes, collecting two points and four rebounds.
Stanley Pringle came into the game as Ginebra's top gunner with 20 points per game but was only able to score seven points in the loss.
NEXT GAMES
San Miguel vs NorthPort Batang Pier, 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 10
Ginebra vs Terrafirma Dyip, 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 09