Mo Tautuaa and the San Miguel Beermen cruised to an easy 81-66 win over the league-leading Barangay Ginebra inside the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center.

San Miguel’s Mo Tautuaa makes a move against Prince Caperal of Ginebra. (Photo from PBA)

The Beermen used a strong defensive stand to turn back Ginebra and tally their sixth win in 10 games in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup. Tautuaa finished with a double-double outing of 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Chris Ross stuffed the stat sheet with his 11 points, 14 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals.

In an effort to put a stop on their two-game losing skid, the Beermen raced to an excellent first half showing. Their defense held Ginebra to only 14 total points in the second quarter as San Miguel built a 17-point advantage entering the halftime break.

Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar attempts a floater against Marcio Lassiter of San Miguel. (Photo from PBA)

The Gin Kings would turn the tables in the third quarter as they contained the Beermen to only 11 total markers to trim the deficit to only eight points at the end of the period. But Ginebra struggled with their offense again in the final frame, paving the way for San Miguel to come away with the win.

Japeth Aguilar led the charge for Ginebra with his 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, but only logged in 17 minutes the whole game. Scottie Thompson notched a near-triple-double performance of 12 points, 9 boards and 10 dimes in the loss.

The Gin Kings now drop to a 7-3 record and share the lead in the standings with the TNT Tropang Giga. Meanwhile, the Beermen improve to a 6-4 record to solidify their playoff chances.

SCORES

San Miguel (81) – Tautuaa 20, Lassiter 12, Ross 11, Gamalinda 11, Cabagnot 11, Santos 7, Pessumal 7, Zamar 2, Comboy 0, Mamaril 0, Escoto 0

Ginebra (66) – J. Aguilar 13, Thompson 12, Mariano 11, Tolentino 8, Pringle 7, Caperal 7, Dillinger 2, Chan 2, Dela Cruz 2, R. Aguilar 2, Tenorio 0, Balanza 0, Salado 0