Chris Ross erupted for 27 points in a rare offensive explosion as the San Miguel Beermen snapped their skid with a 103-96 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup Wednesday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The all-around guard, who specializes in hustle and defense, carried the load for the Beermen as he also buried five out of eight triples and collected three rebounds, three assists and three steals to help San Miguel (4-3) bounce back from two straight losses.
Marcio Lassiter added 22 points, Arwind Santos chipped in 18 points and June Mar Fajardo registered 17 points and 14 boards as San Miguel’s prolific local crew made up for another disappointing performance from import Terik Bridgeman who only had four points and four boards.
San Miguel built a commanding 55-39 halftime edge which it maintained for the rest of the game despite repeated rallies by Rain or Shine.
A bizaare incident happened at the 7:57 mark of the third quarter as the referees forgot to award the last of Fajardo’s two free throws following a foul.
It took the officials six seconds to realize their mistake. At that time, Jewel Ponferrada already drew a foul in a fastbreak play on the other end. Fajardo was then given the free throw before Ponferrada attempted his own.
The Beermen was then enjoying a 65-51 lead. But the blooper somehow lit up the Elasto Painters who dropped a 15-4 run to cut down their deficit to three, 69-66.
San Miguel scored seven unanswered points to open the fourth quarter and extend its lead, 82-70. Ross put the finishing touches by slicing through Rain or Shine’s defense for tough layups to keep the Elasto Painters at bay.
J’Nathan Bullock scored 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven dimes for Rain or Shine (4-3) which saw the end of its three-game win streak.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 103 – Ross 27, Lassiter 22, Santos 18, Fajardo 17, Cabagnot 8, Rosser 5, Bridgeman 4, Espinas 2, Pessumal 0, Tubid 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 96 – Bullock 22, Ahanmisi 12, Norwood 10, Borboran 10, Belga 8, Yap 8, Daquioag 8, Ponferada 6, Tiu 5, Almazan 5, Trollano 2, Cruz 0.
Quarters: 32-23, 55-39, 75-70, 103-96.
