San Miguel Beer put up a strong conclusion to its elimination campaign, drubbing an all-Filipino Rain or Shine, 129-116, in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Friday, March 17.

Mo Tautuaa punishes the rim with a two-handed throw down (PBA Images)

The Beermen had to weather a gutsy stand from the hard-fighting Elasto Painters squad before delivering a 15-4 rally in the final frame which proved to be the deciding blow as SMB wrapped up the eliminations with a 9-2 record in the standings.

San Miguel’s position in the playoff picture, however, remained to be seen, although it is now assured of at least a top 3 finish. The Beermen can still go up to as high as the first seed depending on the result of the marquee duel between TNT and Ginebra which is being played as of press time.

SMB also continued to look good even in the absence of main man June Mar Fajardo with the rest of the Beermen flaunting their depth with five players scoring with 20 points or more.

Big men Vic Manuel and Mo Tautuaa stepped up and held the fort this time around for SMB especially when import Cameron Clark was forced to sit down due to foul trouble in the final frame.

Manuel finished with 23 points while Tautuaa also added the same output of 23 points but came along with 12 rebounds. Clark followed up his career-high performance the last time out with 20 points and nine rebounds.

CJ Perez scattered 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists while Marcio Lassiter fired 20 points built on four triples.

Despite the balanced scoring from the Beermen, the Elasto Painters managed to keep in step for almost the entire contest, managing to always fight back and recover from large deficits, including a 14-0 run in the second quarter that quickly erased SMB’s 13 first quarter lead.

SMB restored order in the third quarter, building double-digit leads but Rain or Shine just refused to go down without a fight and trimmed the lead down to just nine, 100-91, heading into the final frame. That’s when the Beemen embarked on the telling run that completely took the wind out of the Elasto Painters fight.

Gian Mamuyac ended a stellar rookie season with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Mark Borboran added 13 while Anton Asistio, Beau Belga, and Nick Demusis finished with 10 points apiece in a losing effort.