MANILA – San Miguel Beermen recovered from a slow start to score a 109-97 victory over Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup on Saturday night at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.
Kevin Murphy led the way with 28 points while Alex Cabagnot and Christian Standhardinger added 24 and 22 markers, respectively, for the Beermen, which moved up to 6-4 (win-loss).
Down by as much as 9 points early in the match, the Beermen slowly clawed their way back with a barrage of 3-pointers from Murphy, Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, and Marcio Lassiter for a 59-55 halftime lead.
The Beermen relied on consecutive inside baskets from Standhardinger and Santos and outside shots from Kelly Nabong and Murphy toward their biggest advantage in the game 98-79 after a Cabagnot triple.
The Painters made their last push late in the final quarter, managing to get as close as 8 points, but free throws from Murphy and an inside hit from Louie Vigil raised the Beermen’s lead back to 12 points.
Maverick Ahanmisi finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Jewel Ponferrada and Terrence Watson added 15 and 13 points, respectively, for the Painters (2-8).
ELITE OVER DYIP
In the first game, Blackwater Elite remained in contention for the twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals as they snapped their two-game losing skid with a 120-99 rout on Columbian Dyip.
The Elite surged to a 33-17 lead in the opening period behind Allein Maliksi, Michael Digregorio and Henry Walker. The Dyip attempted to come close in the second period but shots from Walker and Rey Mark Belo increased the Elite’s lead to 63-42 at the half.
The lead grew further for the Elite in the second half and reached its largest at 31 points after a basket by Belo. The Dyip got some headway in the fourth but this was not enough to turn things around.
Walker finished with double-double 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Belo chipped in conference-high 16 markers for the Elite (7-3). Akeem Wright had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Dyip, which finished their campaign with a 1-10 win-loss card./PN
