Beermen blast Aces, grab lead

BAGO CITY — Stunned by Shell the last time out, San Miguel Beer bounced back strong and trounced Alaska Milk, 85-75, as it moved closer to gaining a twice-to-beat incentive in the PBA All-Filipino Cup quarterfinals in a road game at the Bago City Coliseum here last night.

Danny Seigle, who ended up the goat by muffing a potential game-winning shot in regulation play in their 73-80 overtime loss to Shell Wednesday, redeemed himself as he proved to be San Miguel’s lethal weapon versus Alaska.

The Fil-Am forward out of Wagner University scattered a game-high 31 points, including 13 in the second quarter where the Beermen made a big turnaround from a scrambling start and seized the momentum on the way to a relatively easy win.

The win, San Miguel’s seventh in 10 games, pulled the team out of a three-way tie with Red Bull and Shell. The loss sent Alaska sliding to sixth place with a 5-5 win-loss mark.

The Aces took the initiative at the start, enjoying a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter but couldn’t keep pace with the Beermen when Seigle got his game going.

The Beermen easily wiped out the five-point deficit in posting a 39-29 lead at the half, and they pressed their bid further coming from the halftime huddle, leading by as many as 17 points at one time.

Meanwhile, from this quaint Visayan city, PBA action goes back north with an out-of-town double-header at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Shell seeks to keep its amazing romp to boost its bid for a spot in the Magic Four versus Barangay Ginebra while Sta. Lucia hopes to check its skid and resuscitate its hopes of surviving the elimination round against Mobiline.

The streaking Turbo Chargers and the slumping Realtors are four games apart in the team standings with a 6-3 card and a 2-7 slate, respectively. The Gin Kings are at 5-4 and the Phone Pals at 4-5.

Shell, Ginebra and Mobiline are among those still in hot contention for a place in the Top Four which guarantees a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals. With their string of bad lucks, Sta. Lucia, meanwhile, would be happy just to make it to the Final Eight.