By Adrian Stewart Co

The San Miguel Beermen clawed back from 29 points down to pull off a 117-105 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters last Monday, taking a 2-0 lead in their ongoing 2019 Honda PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Chris Ross unloaded 10 three-pointers to finish with a conference-best 34 points for the Beermen; while Chris McCullough chipped in 22 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists; Alex Cabagnot added 17, Christian Standhardinger – 15, June Mar Fajardo – 14, and Terrence Romeo –12.
The Painters got off to a rousing start and went up by as much as 29 points but the Beermen erased it with triples from Ross and Cabagnot to come to within 52-49 at the half.
Rain or Shine led by 56-49 when San Miguel uncorked three-pointer after three-pointer from Ross, Cabagnot, and Romeo for an 81-63 edge. However, hits from James Yap allowed the Painters to narrow the gap to 15.
The Beermen went for the kill in the final period with Ross converting two more triples for their largest lead, up 105-84, before the Painters came up with late hits to trim the final deficit./ASC, WDJ