Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Import Reggie Williams made a key steal while Chris Ross drilled the crucial baskets in the endgame as the San Miguel Beermen eked out a thrilling 92-90 victory over sister team San Mig Coffee Mixers Sunday night in the PBA Governors' Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena. The win was the second in three outings for the Beermen who improved to solo fourth in the standings. The Mixers suffered their first loss after opening with a win to tie the Alaska Aces in fifth to sixth place in the rankings. San Mig Coffee was still ahead, 71-63, early in the fourth quarter when Ross fired a three-pointer, sparking a 16-4 SMB run, giving the Beermen a 79-75 lead. The Mixers struck back to regain the lead, 83-82, following a Marc Pingris dunk. Chris Lutz and Williams responded with a three-pointer each as the Beermen took the lead again, 88-83, with less than two minutes left. James Yap delivered a booming triple to cut SMB's lead to two points, 92-90, with 5.6 seconds left. The Beermen elected to send Williams to the line, which paid off as the NBA veteran missed both free throws. San Mig import Marqus Blakely grabbed the rebound and raced downcourt with a game-typing layup in mind. But Williams redeemed himself by stripping the ball off Blakely's hand as the Beermen held on for the win. Williams paced the Beermen with 29 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. June Mar Fajardo added 18 points while Ross scored 15 points, 13 of them in the final quarter. The wily SMB point guard also had eight assists. Blakely led all scorers with 31 points and 19 rebounds. Mark Barroca and Marc Pingris contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively. Yap added 11 points. San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone blamed himself for his team's defeat, admitting that he made mistakes in the fourth quarter. The SMB victory was bittersweet as the team lost Marcio Lassiter to injury after the latter crashed into a row of courtside seats, suffering a large gash on his shin early in the game. He was rushed to hospital and did not return to the court. Rain or Shine 119, GlobalPort 97: The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters notched their first victory in the tournament after back-to-back losses, whipping the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 119-97. Rain or Shine thus tied GlobalPort and Barako Bull at seventh to ninth place in the standings, all with a 1-2 win-loss card. Game Monday: Talk N Text Tropang Texters vs. Alaska Aces.
