Beermen rip B Pier, seal No. 1 position

MANILA, Philippines - Cebuano behemoth June Mar Fajardo, with big help from teammates Arwind Santos and Marcio Lassiter, made a sweet homecoming in his home province last night.

With Fajardo fighting off double-teaming defense all night, Santos and Lassiter came to his aid as San Miguel Beer held off GlobalPort, 106-100, to automatically claim a top finish in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at the Hoops Dome in Lapu Lapu City, Cebu.

Santos made a season-best 31 points on top of 10 rebounds, Lassiter put in 22 markers, six boards and three assists while Fajardo delivered 19 points and 15 rebounds as the Beermen distanced themselves away from the field with an eighth straight win and ninth in 10 games overall.

RR Garcia, Chris Ross and Brian Heruela tended the backcourt minus Alex Cabagnot who’s down with fever as San Miguel rolled past GlobalPort and in the process gained playoff top seeding for the second time in the last three conferences.

Foiled in their own bid in this Petron Blaze Saturday Special, the Batang Pier dropped to a heavy five-way logjam at second with Barangay Ginebra, Phoenix, TNT KaTropa and Rain or Shine at 5-4.

The Gin Kings and the Fuel Masters dispute solo second as action swings over to the PhilSports Arena in Pasig tonight.

Alaska Milk (4-4) tries to move in the Top Six while Mahindra (2-6) fights for survival as they clash in the 4:30 p.m. curtain raiser before Ginebra and Phoenix face off in a key matchup at 6:45 p.m.

Santos went 10-of-17 from the field and 6-of-8 from the line in his most productive performance in almost four years or since his career-high 34 in a 110-103 win over Rain or Shine in the 2012 Commissioner’s Cup.