By Rey Joble

SAN Miguel Beer made up for the absence of its top guns and repulsed the late rally of Burger King, 114-105, in the Motolite Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Jonas Villanueva, formerly the Beermen’s third-string point guard being groomed to become the team’s chief quarterback, pumped in 16 points, including a backbreaking triple at the height of the Titans’ uprising.

With the Titans coming back from 26 points down, the 5’11” sentinel from Eastern University made the big play for the Beermen, knocking in a triple with less than two minutes remaining to give his team more cushion, 106-98.

Villanueva, who finished with 27 in his team’s previous win, has averaged 21.5 points in his first two games this conference to lead the Beermen’s local production.

Playing minus Danny Seigle, Danny Ildefonso, Lordy Tugade and Mike Cortez, San Miguel Beer quashed the rally of Burger King, which entered the game aiming for the solo lead.

Instead, it was the Beermen, who stayed perfect and joined the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants on the leader board after two games.

But coach Siot Tanquingcen is far from satisfied, especially after his team squandered a 19-point lead, 85-66, entering the final quarter against possibly one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament.

“We gave up so many points in the fourth quarter and the worse part is we couldn’t get the rebounds. Those things killed us in some of our losses this season,” said Tanquingcen.

Tanquingcen got a big lift from the newest kid on the block—his 23-year-old import Gabe Freeman, a first timer in this tournament like three other reinforcements before him, Purefoods’ Brian Hamilton, Talk N Text’s Tiras Wade and Barako Bull’s Scooter McFadgon.