Beermen rip Painters to close in on sweep

MANILA, Philippines -- The San Miguel Beermen are now just a win away from their second straight PBA Philippine Cup finals appearance after reasserting their mastery over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 117-107, Wednesday at the Dasmarinas Arena in Cavite.

A win on Friday will keep the defending champions on track to back-to-back titles.

Three Beermen finished with at least 20 points each. CJ Perez led the pack with 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter added 21 built on five 3-pointers.

Don Trollano chipped in 20 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

With the Elasto Painters trying to mount a comeback following a Santi Santillan triple to cut the Beermen's lead to four, 105-109, with 1:30 remaining, the Beermen turned to Lassiter for the biggest shot of the night.

With the shot clock winding down, the ball found Lassiter, who launched a deep trey for the dagger, 112-105, with 40.7 seconds remaining.

Santillan was able to answer with a deuce, but a jumper by Terrence Romeo shut the door. And with the game all but over, the explosive guard found the bottom of the net from beyond the arc for the final score.

After trailing by six at the start of the fourth quarter, 85-91, a Shaun Ildefonso layup gave Rain or Shine a one point lead, 94-93, with 9:32 remaining.

A 10-3 run was unleashed by San Miguel to retake a six point cushion, 103-97, with about five minutes to go.

The two teams then traded baskets as the sizeable crowd got into the game as well.

Chris Ross added 12 for the triumphant squad, while June Mar Fajardo provided 11 markers and 11 boards.

Beau Belga carried the offensive load for the Elasto Painters with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Adrian Nocum, Jhonard Clarito and Keith Datu all supplied 14 each.

Game 4 will be back in Manila at the Mall of Asia Arena at 7:30 p.m.