Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Behemoth June Mar Fajardo, backed up by import Reggie Williams, led the San Miguel Beermen in pounding an undersized and undermanned Rain or Shine Elasto Painters squad for a 97-92 victory Friday night in the PBA Governor's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Fajardo bullied his way into the paint to score 28 points, 12 of them in the pivotal fourth quarter. The SMB giant also hauled down 18 rebounds as the Beermen notched their first win in the tournament after losing their first match. After his 42-point production against Alaska last week, Williams remained hot, finishing with a game-high 29 points, 13 boards plus two steals on Friday night. Although finishing with just four points, point guard Chris Ross also shone for the Beermen, tallying 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals in just 26 minutes of action. Arwind Santos added 19 points. SMB tied three other teams – Barako Bull, Alaska and GlobalPort – for fifth to eighth place, all with a 1-1 win-loss record. The Painters suffered their second straight loss and fell to the bottom of the heap, together with the Meralco Bolts. The Beermen shot 31-of-75 (41.3 percent) from the field while limiting the Painters to 33-of-86 (38.4 percent) shooting. With SMB up by just a whisker in the endgame, Williams nailed a clutch three-pointer to boost his team's lead to four, 91-87. Ross then made a dazzling spin move in the lane for a layup, giving SMB a 93-87 lead. The Painters had plenty of chances to get closer but could not shake off the pesky San Miguel defense. Import Arizona Reid led Rain or Shine with 27 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Paul Lee and the returning Chris Tiu added 13 and 11 points respectively. GlobalPort 95, Alaska 91 With their prized rookie Terrence Romeo back in action, the GlobalPort Batang Pier stunned the Alaska Aces, 95-91, for their first win in the season-ending conference. Import LeRoy Hickerson once again led the Batang Pier with 25 points. But unlike in GlobalPort's opening game loss to Ginebra, Hickerson had plenty of support from Alex Cabagnot (24 points), Romeo (18), and Jay Washington (13). The Batang Pier asserted their might right in the first half. They continued torching the net in the second half as they led by as much as 17 points in the third quarter. But the Aces refused to quit, fighting an uphill battle until they finally managed to cut the deficit to just four points, 77-73, midway in the the fourth quarter. But Washington doused the Alaska rally with a booming triple, sparking an 8-0 run that pushed GlobalPort's lead back to 12 points, 85-73. Still, the Aces refused to throw in the towel. After Calvin Abueva scored, the headstrong forward then stole the ball, and then scored again as the Aces cut the deficit to five points, 93-88, and then to just three points, 94-91, after a three-pointer from import Henry Walker. Cabagnot then sealed the win for GlobalPort with a free throw. Games Saturday: Barako Bull Energy vs. Air21 Express and Ginebra San Miguel vs Meralco Bolts.
