Eastern's Chris McLaughlin dunks against San Miguel in their PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup game, December 22, 2024 at the PhilSports Arena. PBA Images

MANILA (UPDATED) -- Eastern let a double-digit advantage slip but regained their poise in overtime to hand San Miguel Beer a 99-91 defeat on Sunday evening at the PhilSports Arena.

It was Eastern's second straight win over the Beermen, having beaten them in the East Asia Super League, 71-62, last Wednesday. They also got back in the win column in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup after suffering a loss against NorthPort, 120-113, in their previous assignment. 

For the Beermen, the result snaps a two-game winning streak and drops them to 3-3 heading into the league's holiday break.

Glen Yang was the star for Eastern, putting up 26 points -- including the dagger three-pointer in OT -- on top of four assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Christopher McLaughlin finished with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double along with five steals.

As a team, Eastern had 15 steals and scored 25 points off San Miguel's turnovers.

They led by as much as 12 points, 38-26, in the first half but the hot shooting of Marcio Lassiter brought the Beermen back in the game. Two free throws by June Mar Fajardo forced a 61-all deadlock late in the third period, but Eastern ended the quarter on a strong note with back-to-back triples from Siu Wing Chan and Kobey Lam to enter the final period with a 69-64 advantage.

San Miguel went blow-for-blow with Eastern in the fourth, and crucial misses at the line by McLaughlin allowed the Beermen to tie the game at 87 off a CJ Perez three-pointer with 1:24 left. However, both teams blew chances to win the game, with Blankley bricking a triple and the Beermen failing to even get a shot off in the closing seconds.

It was all Eastern in the extra period, as they outscored San Miguel 12-7. Yang and Hayden Blankley scored all of Eastern's points, with Yang going 3-of-3 from the field including the three-pointer with 44 seconds to go that slammed the door on the Beermen's hopes of a comeback.

Blankley finished with 15 points for Eastern, which now has a 6-2 win-loss record in the PBA.

Jabari Narcis had 28 points and 10 rebounds in his debut for San Miguel, going 11-of-29 from the field. Fajardo continued his recent string of dominant play with a 23-point, 18-rebound double-double, and Perez added 18 points.

The Beermen struggled to keep up with Eastern's ball movement, however, and their own offense stagnated in the closing seconds when they had a chance to steal the win. 

The Scores (OT):

EASTERN 99 – Yang 26, McLaughlin 18, Blankley 15, Lam 13, Chan 10, Pok 6, Cao 5, Guinchard 3, Zhu 2, Cheung 1, Xu 0

SAN MIGUEL 91 – Narcis 28, Fajardo 23, Perez 18, Lassiter 13, Rosales 3, Trollano 2, Tautuaa 2, Cruz 2, Ross 0, Tiongson 0, Brondial 0, Cahilig 0

QUARTERS :  22-20, 51-41, 69-64, 98-87, 99-91