SMB import, locals shine as E-Painters fade

Games tomorrow (Cuneta Astrodome)

5:45 p.m. – Talk n Text vs Meralco

8 p.m. – Globalport vs Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines - Kevin Jones scattered 29 points in the first three quarters then Chris Ross and Arwind Santos took over in the final period as San Miguel Beer turned back Rain or Shine, 112-107, to improve to solo third place in the PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Ross and Santos combined for 11 of San Miguel’s last 14 points to cap their sterling all-around efforts that carried the Beermen to a third win in four starts in the short mid-season tourney.

Both players struck on both ends at endgame as San Miguel came through with a decisive 14-6 closing run to score some measure of revenge against its tormentor in the last Philippine Cup Final Four.

With SMB down by two at 102-104, Santos banged away a trey, Ross scored on a drive following a missed triple by Jeff Chan, then Santos got a big steal and nailed two charities as the Beermen spurted ahead, 109-104, with time down to 22.1 seconds.

The Elasto Painters failed to recover from there, and moved down to joint seventh place with the Barangay Ginebra Kings at 1-2.

“It always feels good to beat a team like Rain or Shine which is really well disciplined and well coached,” said San Miguel Beer coaching consultant Todd Purves.

Purves was elated over the Beermen’s good team effort, but made special mention of Ross who came up with a career-best 22 points that went with 10 assists, five steals and five rebounds in a remarkable 40-minute job.

“We expect effort from Ross every time that’s why he’s our captain. More consistent effort from him and good shooting is icing on the cake,” said Purves.

Ross made his presence felt at the finish, getting his fifth and last steal off Beau Belga and striking with three clutch baskets.

Jones tapered off at the finish but not after engaging Alex McLean in a fierce showdown where he piled up 33 points and 15 rebounds as against McLean’s 33 markers and 14 boards.

The Beermen banked on six three-pointers in the second quarter as they took the half at 56-51.

They started the game with a 13-4 binge but the E-Painters slowly ate up San Miguel’s early nine-point buffer, moving up front at 32-30 on back-to-back treys by Belga at the start of the second period.

Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, Santos and Ronald Tubid, however, fired back with their own triples as SMB regained the upper hand going into the final half.

Both teams hit their shots from afar in the first half with the Beermen draining a total of eight and the E-Painters six.

Meanwhile, Air21 has also decided to change an import, acquiring the services of former Memphis Tiger Wesley Witherspoon to take over from Herve Lamizana.

Witherspoon, the last cut in the San Antonio Spurs lineup for the 2012-13 NBA season, is to arrive in time for Air21’s game versus Meralco Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Express have been on a roller-coaster ride with Lamizana, winning over Globalport and Barako Bull but bowing to Talk n Text and Alaska Milk. On their victories over the Batang Pier and the Energy Cola, Lamizana picked up his game only in the final half.

With Witherspoon, the Express hope they could find a steady and more reliable reinforcement who can match up with Richard Howell and James Mays, considered by many as the barometer among the imports in this conference.

Witherspoon is a 6-foot-9 forward signed up by the Spurs in the 2012 NBA preseason only to field later in the Austin Toros team in the NBA D-League. He was later traded to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers where he averaged 14 points, four rebounds and three assists a game.

As a San Antonio Spur in the 2012 NBA summer league, Witherspoon had a solid stint, averaging 8.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 64-percent field shooting. He poured in a personal tournament-best of 17 points against the Houston Rockets, highlighting a stellar NBA summer league stint that had him narrowly missing the final roster spot of the 2012 San Antonio team.

 The scores:

San Miguel Beer 112 – Jones 33, Ross 22, Lassiter 19, Santos 19, Fajardo 11, Duncil 3 Tubid 3, Kramer 2, Maierhofer 0, Hubalde 0, Lutz 0.

Rain or Shine 107 – McLean 33, Lee 13, Belga 12, Chan 9, Arana 8, Almazan 8, Tiu 8, Norwood 8, Rodriguez 4, Uyloan 2, Teng 2, Cruz 0, Tang 0, Tang 0.

Quarterscores: 27-26, 56-51, 88-82, 112-107