San Miguel, Rain or Shine Beat Foes to Stay Tied at 2nd Spot

The San Miguel Beermen and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters dumped their respective rivals Saturday night to remain tied at second place in the standings with identical 9-6 win-loss cards in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup.

San Miguel slaughtered the Red Bull Barakos, 89-84, while Rain or Shine brought down the Purefoods TJ Giants, 82-76.

With the elimination round of the conference winding down, the victories by the Beermen and the Painters made the hunt for the two outright semifinals berths into a three-way race among San Miguel, Rain or Shine and the pacesetting Alaska Aces (10-4).

Despite the continued absence of such key players as Danny Ildefonso, Danny Seigle and Mike Cortez due to injuries, San Miguel still had enough firepower to down Red Bull after a slow start.

Jay Washington top scored for the Beermen with 22 points. He also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Red Bull suffered its eighth straight loss and 11th overall with just three wins to remain deep in the bottom of the standings as its elimination in the conference appeared imminent.

In the first few minutes of the game, Red Bull appeared to be in control as it raced to a 20-6 lead midway in the first period. The quarter ended with the Barakos still on top, 21-14.

But Red Bull failed to sustain its momentum as San Miguel came charging back to take a 46-36 halftime lead.

In the final quarter, Red Bull made a last-ditch attempt to end its six-game losing streak as Warren Ybañez scored on a layup to spark an 11-5 run, tying the game at 79-all with 4:53 left.

But the Beermen would not be denied the victory as Washington and Dondon Hontiveros scored San Miguel’s last 10 points.

Meanwhile, in the first game of the double-header played at the Cuneta Astrodome, Rain or Shine survived a monster game from James Yap who poured in 32 points for Purefoods.

It was the Painters’ third straight win in the conference, marking the franchise’s longest winning streak since it joined the PBA in 2006.

Rookie Sol Mercado led Rain or Shine with 19 points, five assists and three steals while veterans Mark Isip and Rob Wainright combined for 28 points and 13 rebounds.

Jay-r Reyes only had five points but he compensated with 15 rebounds. Gabe Norwood only had three points, two rebounds and three assists.

Rain or Shine won despite committing more errors than Purefoods, 22-18, and having fewer rebounds, 53-63.

James Yap shot 12-of-30 from the field for a 40 percent clip while Kerby Raymundo added 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists.