MANILA – San Miguel Beermen secured a playoffs seat in the 2019 Honda PBA Commissioner’s Cup after an 89-87 escape from Rain or Shine Elasto Painters last night at the Ateneo de Cagayan in Cagayan de Oro City.
Chris McCullough and June Mar Fajardo took over the scoring in the final two minutes with the former splitting his free throw and converting a triple while the latter connecting a two-handed dunk to turn an 83-82 lead to an 89-82 spread.
The Painters, however, made its last push as a triple by Jayvee Mocon and two free throws from Carl Montgomery to cut the deficit to 87-89. Beau Belga had a chance to win it for ROS but his three-point try was way off the mark.
McCullough finished the match with 24 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks and four assists, while Fajardo chipped in double-double 23 points and 17 rebounds for the streaking Beermen.
Terrence Romeo, who was playing with injured finger, also made huge contributions for the Beermen, particularly in the opening half, as he finished with 13 markers, with three outside hits.
The victory was a huge turnaround for the recently-crowned Philippine Cup champions Beermen after starting the conference with 2-5 win-loss card before winning their last three outings.
Mocon top-scored with 20 points, Montgomery added 18 markers and 13 rebounds and Rey Nambatac contributed 11 markers as the Painters ended the elimination round with 5-6 card./PN
