SMB leans on Tautuaa big effort to outlast Terrafirma

MANILA, Philippines: San Miguel Beer relied on backup big man Moala Tautuaa’s fourth quarter heroics to lift the Beermen to a pulsating 113-110 comeback-from-behind win against a fighting Terrafirma side in the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Moala Tautuaa PBA PHOTO

The win preserved the Beermen’s perfect slate as they improved to 5-0 this conference.

Tautuaa banged in 17 of his conference-high 24 points in the final period to help the Beermen overhaul a 12-point deficit against the Dyip.

Terrafirma fell to an 4-4 record just days after coach John Cardel’s charges scored a massive 91-85 upset against Barangay Ginebra last Sunday.

CJ Perez led SMB with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists, while June Mar Fajardo had a monster effort of 20 and 17 boards.

Juami Tiongson led the Dyip with 24 markers.