The San Miguel Beermen fought to sustain the gains they had early.
But a late scare in the fourth period provided lessons for the Beermen as they needed to turn back importless NorthPort Batang Pier, 91-88, Sunday night at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig.
With Robert Bolick and Jamie Malonzo leading a late rally, the Beermen banked on the timely plays of import Brandon Brown, JuneMar Fajardo and CJ Perez in the remaining three minutes.
The Beermen, who squandered a 27-point lead, tried their best to preserve a six-point edge in the final minute after Brown sank two free throws, 91-85.
Perez managed to keep Batang Pier from connecting with a final shot and this carried the Beermen to their first win in three outings.
But not after Malonzo split his charity shot and Bolick shot two freebies the last 27 seconds as Batang Pier threatened to within 88-91
A rebound play from Perez off Malonzo’s miss with a second left, however, kept the Batang Pier from making a decent follow up shot.
“After two straight losses, it’s a wakeup call for us. After my talks with them, they responded in the first three quarters. Pero nandoon pa rin, nagre-relax sa dulo,” said Beermen coach Leo Austria.
SMB took advantage of the absence of injured NorthPort import Cameron Forte and went on to coast to a 26-9 lead in the first period, with Brown firing 12 points.
They took a 49-31 lead at halftime, led by Brown, who finished the second period with seven points.
Brown led SMB with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, while Fajardo and Perez each made 15 points. Marcio Lassiter his 12 markers, as Vic Manuel scored 10.
Bolick banged in 24 points for the Batang Pier, while the newly acquired Arwind Santos, playing against the team he used to play with (Beermen), tallied 23. Malonzo eked out 22.