MANILA — After sleeping for three quarters, the San Miguel Beermen roared back to life in the final period, razing an 18-point deficit to hack out a 93-85 victory against Air21 Express Wednesday night in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Down 56-74 early in the fourth quarter, the Beermen unleashed a devastating 31-4 run to erect an 87-78 lead as the Express once again suffered a monumental collapse. SMB finished the elimination round with a 7-2 win-loss mark, snaring the coveted No. 2 spot, which carries a twice-to-beat advantage, heading into the quarterfinals. The Beermen have now won five of their last six matches, while the Express (3-6) are on a steep dive, having lost three straight and six of their last seven. SMB collected just 35 points in the first half but exploded for 38 markers in the fourth quarter against Air21's 13. SMB shot 14-of-22 (63.6 percent) in the fourth and 33-of-78 (42.3 percent) overall. In contrast Air21 simply ran out of wind, going 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) and 25-of-65 (38.5 percent) overall. The Express finished the eliminations at 3-6, which would land them at seventh or eighth spot in the playoffs depending on the final elimination round match Sunday between Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine. A Rain or Shine loss would lift Ginebra to sixth spot, pulling down Rain or Shine to seventh and Air21 to eighth place. This would result in SMB battling Rain or Shine and top seed Talk N Text (9-0) going up against Air21. A Ginebra defeat would pull down the Kings to eighth spot while Rain or Shine gets the sixth seed and Air21 the seventh seed. In this scenario, TNT will square up against Ginebra, and SMB will tangle with Air21 anew. SMB's twin towers of Arwind Santos and June Mar Fajardo led the Beermen in turning the tide of battle to their favor in the fourth quarter even as import Kevin Jones led the team with 19 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Santos finished with 18 points, 10 of them in SMB's mighty fourth-quarter assault. He also had seven rebounds, and two steals. Fajardo tallied 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, while Marcio Lassiter finished with 17 points and two steals. Air 21 import Wesley Witherspoon led all scorers with 27 points and seven rebounds. Sean Anthony added 14 points and eight rebounds, while rookie forward EJ Camson had 12 points and seven rebounds. Meanwhile, two-time Best Import awardee Gabe Freeman has finally been cleared to play for Ginebra, starting with the Kings' match against the Painters this Sunday. The replacement of NBA-bound Josh Powell arrived in Manila early Wednesday from Phoenix, Arizona. Freeman led San Miguel to the 2009 PBA championship. He owns PBA career averages of 21.1 points and 16.2 rebounds per game. In a surprising development, boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao has indicated his strong desire to play in the PBA as part of newcomer Kia Motors team starting in the next season. Speaking in Los Angeles, USA, two days after regaining his world welterweight title over Timothy Bradley, the Filipino boxing icon confirmed that he really intends to play basketball in the pro league. Pacquiao said the details of such a historic development are still not clear though. If Kia Motors accepts Pacquiao in its roster, the eight-division world boxing champion will become the first pro boxer to join the 39-year-old league. Aside from boxing, Pacquiao also plays good basketball in his free time and uses the game as part of his training program. However, Pacquiao faces tough challenge in the PBA since at 35, he will become one of the oldest rookies to play in the league and among the shortest at 5'6”. Games Sunday: Alaska vs. San Mig Coffee and Rain or Shine vs. Ginebra.
