Chris Ross came to the rescue of San Miguel Beer in the last two minutes as the Beermen fended off the Meralco Bolts, 93-83, to post their first victory in the 48th Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Ross banged in seven of his 10 points in the last period, to help power the Beermen past the Bolts, who tasted their first defeat after three games.
Beermen coach Jorge Gallent said their efforts to control the boards in the final period worked wonders for the team.
Ross’ triple and two charities in the last 1:14 allowed the Beermen to keep their distance, 90-81.
Chris Newsome shot 33 points for the Bolts, and his three-pointer with 2:14 gave Meralco a chance to come close, 81-85.
Ivan Aska led the Beermen with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Junemar Fajardo added 17 points and 15 boards.
“I guess it (rebounding) worked. We held them to lower offensive rebounds in the end. The guys did a good job,” said Gallent.
Ross’ efforts came as the Beermen adjusted from the absence of Jericho Cruz, Marcio Lassiter, and Jeron Teng.
The Beermen also struggled after they lost Terrence Romeo, who suffered a suspected knee injury late in the second canto.
CJ Perez accounted for 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists for the Beermen.
The Beermen will seek their second straight win when they play Converge in their coming clash on November 25 in Tiaong, Quezon.