Beermen trounce Bolts for 1st win

MANILA, Philippines -- The San Miguel Beermen notched their first win in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner's Cup while dealing the Meralco Bolts their first loss, 93-83, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts clawed from 21 points down and cut the lead to just four, 62-66, heading into the final frame.

The Beermen took a 10-point lead, 85-75, with three and a half minutes left as June Mar Fajardo split his freebies.

But then, Chris Newsome made back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 85-81, in the fourth quarter.

On the other end, Chris Ross hit a dagger 3-pointer to grab an 88-81 lead with 1:57 remaining.

Ross then put the icing on the cake with a pair of free throws with 1:14 left, 90-81.

San Miguel's import, Ivan Aska, finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Reigning league Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo followed suit with 17 markers.

Newsome led the Bolts with 22 points.

Suleiman Braimoh, meanwhile, struggled with just 15 markers and 12 boards on six-of-18 shooting.

It was a wire-to-wire affair for San Miguel, which stormed to a 10-point lead in the first quarter.

The lead grew to 21, 51-30, following a pair of free throws by the debuting Kyt Jimenez.

In the same period, however, the Bolts inched to a single-digit deficit, 52-43, with a Newsome 3-pointer.

San Miguel is now holding a 1-1 card in the PBA. Meralco dropped to 2-1.