MANILA - San Miguel Beer extended its winning run to 8 games after walloping Burger King, 100-85, at the start of the second round of elimination of the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Arwind Santos had another solid all-around performance against his former team as he finished with game-highs 27 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks to power the Beermen to their eight straight win for an 8-2 mark.

Lordy Tugade added 20 points while Dennis Miranda chipped in 14 markers for coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“I think our defense was key tonight,” said Tanquingcen as his wards held the Whoppers without a field goal in the first nine minutes of the fourth period that helped them to break away from a tight contest.

“Defense should always be constant for us while we await the return of D.I. (Danny Ildefonso) and J-Wash (Jay Washington),” he added.

Veteran playmaker Olsen Racela also contributed 12 markers in his 872nd game in the PBA, moving past the already retired Elpidio ‘Yoyoy’ Villamin and Jerry Codinera for the fourth all-time list.

But the night belonged to Santos, a former Burge King stalwart who was traded in the off season for Ken Bono and a future first round pick.

The ex-FEU standout was instrumental in the team’s comeback early in the game after Burger King scored the first eight points of the contest as the Beermen took a slim 45-44 lead at halftime.

Mark Yee’s three-pointer put Burger King withing three, 57-60, but San Miguel used a momentum-swinging 11-2 bomb to take a 71-59 cushion with less than two minutes left in the third period.

But the Whoppers, who dropped to 3-7, stayed close as Gary David’s technical fee throw put Burger King within four, 68-72, 11:34 left in the contest.

San Miguel then tightened its defense and held the Whoppers without a field goal in the next nine minutes and unloaded a 16-1 spurt to widen the gap at 88-69 with less than four minutes remaining.

JR Quinahan put a halt to Burger King’s scoring drought with a jumper, 71-88, but Racela responded with a booming trey to erect a 91-71 advantage to put the game out of reach

The Beermen, also walked away with an easy 117-99 win over the Whoppers in the first round where Santos netted 28 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.

Richard Yee led Burger King with 14 points. Carlo Sharma and Mark Yee contributed 12 and 11 markers respectively.
 
Aces keep top spot

Meanwhile, Alaska needed a strong second half finish to silence the upset-conscious Barako Bull, 99-88, for a franchise-best 9-1 start in the tournament.

After a slow start, the Aces pounded the Energy Boosters in the second half and Willie Miller’s three-pointer gave them their biggest lead at 90-67 with 7:05 left in the game.

But Barako Bull, behind Yousif Aljamal and Paolo Bubalde, unloaded a 21-3 burst to threaten at 88-93 with 2:07 remaining. Alaska sealed the win with six straight points capped by Mille’s jumper.

Reynel Hugnatan led Alaska with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Miller added 11 points and same number of assists.

Aljamal had a game-high 21 markers for the Energy Boosters, who fell to 2-8.