The San Miguel Beermen found themselves at the receiving end of blows early, but recovered in time to win pulling away, 103-92, last night in the Gran Matador Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.

"I expect us to come out with high intensity after our double overtime victory," said Beermen coach Jong Uichico. "But I didn’t expect them (Phone Pals) to play at the same level (of intensity)."

Olsen Racela, perhaps the lightest in the Beermen camp, threw the heaviest punches with a game-high 24 points and seven assists. But the most telling combination came from Dondon Hontiveros.

After Jimmy Alapag’s three-pointer knotted the count at 80-all, Hontiveros buried consecutive treys to spark a 10-0 blitz and give the Beermen the cushion they need to notch their second straight win and fourth in five games overall.

A strong third quarter turned the tide in favor of the Beermen.

The Beermen unloaded a 16-5 bomb at the start of the third period to level at 66-all and sustained the attack with torrid outside shooting.

The Phone Pals proved quicker with the jabs in the early goings, pouring in 36 in the first quarter alone. The Beermen were not far behind though with 31, thanks to Nic Belasco’s 11 markers.

But a balanced offensive stemming from fluid ball movement allowed the Phone Pals to post several double-digit spreads in the second frame and take a 60-51 lead as the two teams returned to the locker room.

Earl Ike and Alapag had 13 apiece to share scoring honors for the Phone Pals at halftime.

The high-scoring first half saw the league’s leading local scorer – Danny Seigle – limited to just nine points. It was the first time this conference that the prolific Beermen forward was held below 10 points at halftime.

Meanwhile, the league will take a 10-day break to observe the Lenten Season. Actions resume on March 30 at the Araneta Coliseum with games pitting the Purefoods Hotdogs against the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Coca-Cola Tigers against the Shell Turbo Chargers.