San Miguel Beer extends win streak to 5 at Meralco's expense

San Miguel Beermen extended their winning streak to five at the expense of the Meralco Bolts, 94-86, in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Beermen were leading by nine, 90-81, with 2:30 left in the fourth period before KJ Mcdaniels dunked to cut the Bolts' deficit.

Marcio Lassiter gave the Beermen enough breathing room with less than a minute left, but three bonuses from Allein Maliksi off a Simon Enciso foul trimmed SMB's lead to six.

SMB import Cameron Clark hit the winning basket with 32 seconds left which eventually maintained the Beermen's perfect record in the conference.

Clark registered 28 points and 12 rebounds, while CJ Perez added 19 points. Jericho Cruz and June Mar Fajardo chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.

McDaniels, meanwhile, tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds in the Bolts' second loss in five games. Chris Newsome added 18 points, while Maliksi listed 16 markers.

The Beermen will try to extend its streak to six on Saturday against Converge Fiberxers, while Meralco will play TNT Tropang Giga on February 17.

The Scores:

SMB 94 – Clark 28, Perez 19, Cruz 13, Fajardo 11, Enciso 8, Lassiter 7, Bulanadi 6, Ross 2, Tautuaa 0, Brondial 0.

Meralco 86 – McDaniels 18, Newsome 18, Maliksi 16, Banchero 7, Black 5, Pasaol 5, Hodge 4, Caram 3, Quinto 3, Almazan 3, Jose 2, Pascual 2.

Quarter scores: 18-14, 44-33, 69-63, 94-86.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News