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Source: abs-cbnnews.com

-- San Miguel Beer drew big games from its guards and survived Purefoods Tender Juicy’s late-game rally for a 92-76 win Wednesday night in the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

Mike Cortez, Jonas Villanueva and Dondon Hontiveros provided the knockout punches and helped the Beermen win their fifth straight after a 0-2 start in the tournament.

“It’s a good win. I think what’s carrying us is our defense. Offense comes and goes. I give credit to our defensive focus for having this streak,” said San Miguel head coach Siot Tanquingcen.

Cortez finished with a game-high 22 points while Hontiveros finally broke out of a scoring slump and contributed 20 for the Beermen, who are now toting a 5-2 mark.

Villanueva dished out an all-around performance with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Arwind Santos also had a solid game for San Miguel with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

James Yap paced the Giants with 13 points but was 6-of-17 from the field, including a 1-of-6 stint from the three-point area.

Marc Pingris chipped in 12 for the Giants, who slid down in the team standings with 3-3 mark.

Cardona sizzles for Texters
Mark Cardona scored a conference-high 35 points to lead Talk ‘N Text to a shaky 103-94 victory over Coca-Cola and snap a two-game losing skid.

Jimmy Alapag added 21 points while Nic Belasco chipped in 11 and 10 rebounds for the Tropang Texters who played minus their top rebounder Harvey Carey due to injury.

“It’s nice getting a win but I have to admit, we didn’t play our best tonight,” said Talk ‘N Text head coach Chot Reyes.

“After this game, my concern right now is our game against Barako Bull on Friday. The guys played major minutes tonight but that’s PBA. We just have to find ways to compete,” he added.

Jared Dillinger, who played with a bruised hip, and Ali Peek added 8 points each for the defending champion.

Veteran center Dennis Espino led the Tigers with 21 points and 13 rebounds while Larry Rodriguez contributed 17 markers off the bench.

Coke fell to 1-4 while TNT improved to 3-2.

In Tropang Texters’ two losses, they were outrebounded by 44 boards. On Wednesday night, however, they prevailed in that category, 48-41.

“Kailangan maging aggressive kami kasi nga wala si Harvey tapos may injury pa si Jared,” said Cardona, who was the Finals MVP in the last Philippine Cup finals. “’Yun ang natutunan ko kay coach Chot. Ibigay mo ang lahat every game kasi maiksi lang buhay ng player.”