Import-less Beermen rip Aces, claim 1,000th win

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Beer nailed its 1,000th win in franchise history, bucking the absence of an import and four key local players in topping Alaska Milk, 93-89, last night in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.

Jonas Villanueva scored a career-high 27 points and Dondon Hontiveros added 22 points as the Beermen got off to a rousing start in the season-ending tourney with import Nate Carter unable to play without his release papers from St. Etienne team in the French league.

“We’re blessed and lucky we pulled it off playing without an import. We only learned that he’s not given his release papers by his French team a few minutes before the game,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“His agent (Passing Lane) misrepresented him. This is the first time we deal with this agent who assured us everything is cleared on Nate – height, drug test, clearance and everything. We’re also told by Nate that he got permission to leave (by his French team) as he’s not getting paid,” Tanquingcen added.

He also said that while Carter’s agent works for his clearance, they would also look for available players.

Villanueva and Hontiveros took the cudgels for the Beermen as they also overcame the absence of injured stars Danny Seigle, Danny Ildefonso, Lordy Tugade and Marc Pingris.

The Beermen even led by as many as 18 points, 76-58, before holding off an Alaska rally, foiling coach Tim Cone’s third straight shot at becoming the winningest coach in league history.

At the moment, Cone shares the distinction with Baby Dalupan with 601 career wins each.

The Aces had came back into the fight, coming to within five, 73-78, when import Galen Young was called his sixth and final foul on Samigue Eman with 4:54 left to play.

Young himself groped for form in the first three quarters, finishing with only 12 points on 3-of-11 field-goal shooting. He scored half of his output from the foul line.

Despite the ouster of Young, the Aces put the pressure on the Beermen before eventually yielding as Joe Devance committed an error with Alaska trailing by five, 87-92, with 15 seconds left in the game.

Villanueva led all scorers on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, 5-of-7 from the two-point zone and 5-of-6 from the stripe. He had gone 9-of-9 from the field before missing a shot with 3:49 left in the third period.

The former FEU backcourt ace made 13 points in the third period, helping the Beermen build a 71-56 cushion going into the final 12 minutes of play.

For the record, the last team to win a game in this tourney sans an import was Alaska itself versus Sta. Lucia on Dec. 7, 2005. The Aces were forced to play without an import then with reinforcement Victor Thomas exceeding the 6-foot-6 height limit.