Beermen outlast Niños

CEBU, Philippines - Spunky guard Jonas Villanueva came out as the brightest star of the night as the San Miguel Beermen outlasted the hard-fighting M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños, 82-73, in their exhibition match at the full-packed Cebu Coliseum.

Villanueva, who unloaded a game-high 20 points, stole the show from Cebuano hearthrob Dondon Hontiveros as he peppered the Niños with four 3-pointers including three straight tomahawks during a searing 11-5 run that translated a 49-50 San Miguel deficit into a 60-52 advantage heading into the final period.

Villanueva was not done from there as he opened the last quarter with a breakaway layup off his own steal and then dished out a nifty assist leading to a double-hander slam by Danny Ildefonso that sent the pro-SMB crowd into frenzied celebration.

After Ariel Mepaña broke M. Lhuillier’s silence with a triple, the Beermen countered with a 6-0 blitz to post their biggest lead of 15 points, 70-55, with 6:34 left to play.

Just when everybody though it’s going to be a blowout, the Niños staged a courageous fightback masterminded by Richard Ian Saladaga, Marlon Basco and Bruce Dacia to chop the deficit down to only three points, 76-73, with 1:29 to go in the game.

The Niños could have gotten closer, but three costly errors by Mepaña with less than a minute remaining sealed their doom. In between Mepaña’s turnovers, Villanueva sealed his heroics by drilling in four straight free throws before Bonbon Custodio sank a pair of freebies for the final tally.

Hontiveros finished with seven points to match his jersey number. He tickled the crowd though when he broke the ice of the match with a 3-point dagger. The spectators were delighted more when a few seconds later Stephen Padilla knocked in a trey for the game’s first deadlock.

The Niños actually dictated the tempo of the game and led by as much as six points three times, the last was at 16-10 with three minutes remaining in the first period. The Beermen replied with a 9-0 blast to grab the upperhand, 21-16.

The Beermen squandered a 46-36 edge in the third canto but Villanueva transformed himself into a one-man wrecking crew to bridge the reigning PBA champion into a breath-taking triumph.

Villanueva was backed up by Ildefonso with 16 points.

Mepaña and Saladaga topped the Niños with 13 points each, while Dacia had 10 points.

The scores

San Miguel (82) - Villanueva 20, Ildefonso 16, Cortez 9, Calaguio 8, Custodio 8, Hontiveros 7, Gonzales 7, Eman 3, Racela 2

M. Lhuillier (73) - Saladaga 13, Mepaña 13, Dacia 10, Basco 8, Nailon 7, Padilla 7, Santos 6, Ababon 5, Enriquez 4

Quarterscores:12-16, 32-34, 60-52, 82-73   (FREEMAN NEWS)