Meg Derby Ace Llamados roared to its third straight win, bludgeoning the Powerade Tigers, 85-73, Friday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. Roger Yap unloaded 18 points on top of seven rebounds and six assists as the Llamados, despite a depleted lineup, rose from the bottom of the standings to solo sixth place with a 4-5 win-loss record. Peter June Simon continued to wax hot for Derby Ace, reprising his career-high 42 points in the Llamados 102-97 triumph against the Air21 Express last Wednesday with a 16-point performance Friday. The Tigers suffered their sixth loss in nine games as they tumbled to solo ninth place, just a half game ahead of the tailender Barako Bull Energy Boosters (2-6). In the first match of the double-header, Barako Bull nearly pulled out a major upset before bowing to the San Miguel Beermen, 81-94. San Miguel thus regained solo first place in the rankings with their seventh win in nine games. For a while though, it appeared the Beermen were in danger of suffering another monumental collapse after their stunning 107-110 loss against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters last Sunday. After taking double-digit leads in the first quarter, the Beermen suddenly cooled down, allowing the Boosters to outscore them in the second and third quarters. Barako Bull even took the lead, 88-87, in the third period, but back-to-back turnovers allowed the Beermen to regain control of the game, outscoring the Boosters, 27-15, in the fourth quarter. Arwind Santos led San Miguel with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Danny Seigle drilled 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, making all his seven shots including three triples. It was the third consecutive loss and sixth in eight games overall for Barako Bull, endangering its bid to make the playoffs. Mark Isip topscored for the Boosters with 22 points while Sunday Salvacion chipped in with 17 markers.
