San Mig Coffee's James Yap gets past San Miguel Beer's Ronald Tubid for a layup in Saturday night's PBA action at the Mall of Asia Arena. Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — The San Miguel Beermen bounced back from a humbling loss to the Alaska Aces last March 29 with a masterful 97-88 drubbing of sister team San Mig Super Coffee Mixers Saturday night in the PBA Commmissioner's Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena. The win improved SMB's record to 6-2 as the Beermen firmed up their grip on the Number 2 spot in the standings behind Talk N Text (9-0). SMB gets the No. 2 seeding, which comes with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals, with a victory in its last elimination round game against the Air21 Express. San Mig Coffee suffered its third defeat in seven outings, tying with the Aces for third to fourth spots. The Beermen took advantage of the injury suffered by San Mig Coffee star forward Marc Pingris, who left the game early in the second quarter after SMB center Doug Kramer accidentally hit him in the ribs during a rebound play. Pingris finished the game with six points and two rebounds. The 6'5” San Mig star forward was set to undergo X-ray. His latest injury came just three days after he suffered a one-inch cut on his left eyelid in San Mig Coffee's win over Air21. Pingris is a doubtful starter for the Mixers' match against the Meralco Bolts on Monday. Pingris' injury added to the health woes of the Mixers, who also had import James Mays and top gunner James Yap suffering from back spasms. Mays was limited to just 30 minutes of action on Saturday, finishing with just 15 points and 14 rebounds. Yap managed to score nine points but sat out the entire fourth quarter. SMB import Kevin Jones led all scorers with 26 points, 16 rebounds and four assists. The former Cleveland Cavalier and NBA Development League standout erupted for 12 points to start the game as the Beermen quickly built up an imposing lead against the Mixers. Marcio Lassiter was also red-hot, scoring 19 points, including three triples, as he bounced back from a mediocre performance against Alaska in their previous game. Starting point guard Chris Ross also played a key role in SMB's victory, tallying 16 points. Center June Mar Fajardo added 15 points and nine rebounds. SMB led by as many as 18 points, 63-45, after a 13-3 run to start the third quarter. The Mixers tried to put up a fight, with PJ Simon and Yap draining back-to-back three-pointers. But the best they could do was to cut SMB's lead to eight points before giving in to the Beermen's superior firepower. SMB shot 40-of-90 (44.4 percent) from the field, while the Mixers were 35-of-79 (44.3 percent). Mays and Simon finished with 15 points apiece for the Mixers, with Mays adding 14 boards and Simon four assists. Ian Sangalang chipped in 13 points, all of them in the second half. Joe Devance finished 12 points while Mark Barroca had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. Games Sunday: Barako Bull vs. GlobalPort and Ginebra vs. Alaska.
