SMART CLARK GIGA CITY - San Miguel displayed the poise and heart of a five-time defending champion as it rallied past Meralco, 89-82, to stretch its winning run in the PBA Philppine Cup.
The Beermen turned on the switch in the fourth quarter behind big man Mo Tautuaa as they drained a barrage of three-pointers to turn around a game where they trailed by as many as 13 points late in the third.
The reigning champion finally surged forward when Von Pessumal hit a trey that broke a 71-all deadlock.
Pessumal's three-pointer capped a 14-2 San Miguel run to start the final quarter, where Tautuaa and Santos also hit a trey each.
"Even though we trailed by double figures, we didn't lose hope," said coach Leo Austria afterwards.
"Coach just told us to keep fighting, to keep grinding," added Tautuaa, who finished with 23 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, aside from grabbing five rebounds.
San Miguel has now won three straight to improve to a 4-2 card in a tie for third place with Barangay Ginebra, which the Beermen will face next.
Santos had another double-double for the five-time champion with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot had nine of 13 markers in the final quarter.
Chris Ross also finished in double figures with 12 points, including a three-pointer to end the third quarter that cut Meralco's lead to 69-60.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Bolts, who had the game under control three-fourths of the way. They jumped to a 65-52 lead as Chris Newsome and Cliff Hodge took care of business in the third, scoring seven points each.
Newsome eventually finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and six assists for Meralco, which fell to an even 3-3 slate.
Baser Amer led the Bolts with 17.
The scores:
San Miguel (89) - Tautuaa 23, Santos 17, Lassiter 12, Ross 12, Cabagnot 13, Gamalinda 4, Pessumal 4,, Zamar 2, Escoto 2, Mamaril 0.
Meralco (82) - Amer 17, Hugnatan 15, Newsome 14, Hodge 7, Quinto 6, Almazan 5, Maliksi 5, Jamito 4, Pinto 2, Faundo 0, Black 7, Jackson 0.
Quarterscores: 19-20 ; 40-40 ; 60 - 69 ; 89-82.
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