San Miguel Beermen survive to beat Purefoods

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MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Beermen stood firm to survive a late rally by Purefoods to notched a win in the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup, 87-80, Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo led the way for the Beermen with 22 points, 15 rebounds and six shot blocks to win their two consecutive games in the conference. Ronald Tubid also added 16 markers igniting SMB bench scoring.

“It’s a good win for us because we beat last season’s finalists. It’s an indication that our team is on the right track,” SMB head coach Leo Austria said, who remained perfect at the helm of the Beermen.

San Miguel took advantage of the absence of Purefoods star James Yap, Marc Pingris, and Ian Sangalang, as they piled up a 19-point deficit, 56-37, in the third period. But Star Hotshots fought back behind Mark Barroca in the fourth period. The Hotshots came all the way to within four points, 80-76, with 3:21 left.

However, Purefoods did not have enough gas to until the end, allowing the Beermen to escape with the win.
PJ Simon and Yousef Taha scored 14 points each. Barroca finished with 13 points, nine in the fourth quarter. Taha played more minutes with Ian Sangalang sitting out due to a severe knee injury.

Purefoods also missed the services of two-time MVP Yap due to a calf injury. Purefoods suffered their two consecutive losses in the conference.

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