Import Ira Brown made his farewell stint with San Miguel a truly memorable one.
He just happened to convert the game-winning basket Friday that finally shoved the Beermen into the win column of the PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Brown's follow-up basket beat the final buzzer as San Miguel edged out Meralco, 90-89, in a thrilling finish at the Araneta Coliseum.

The winning shot came at the right place at the right time for the Beermen, who previously wasted three cracks at the basket in the final 24 seconds after overcoming a five-point deficit (89-84) with 2:43 left in the game.

Brown scored 18 points ands grabbed 10, impressive numbers, which unfortunately, were not enough for him to keep his job with the Beermen.

"Ganun talaga eh," said San Miguel coach Ato Agustin. "Kakausapin ko na lang mamaya. Maiintindihan naman niya ‘yun."

The Beermen improved to 1-1 after the game that saw the team welcomed three new players in their fold – Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra – following that blockbuster trade with the Air21 Express last Wednesday.

Al-Hussaini added 10 points and nine rebounds in his debut for the team, while Baclao only saw action for five minutes. Guevarra was not fielded in.

The Bolts suffered their third straight loss in as many outings to remain at the cellar of the import-laden tournament.

But for a while, the Bolts were on the verge of pulling their first win after coming back from a 65-73 deficit early in the final period to take a five-point lead with them entering the final two minutes.

San Miguel however, quickly recovered and was only behind by a point with 24 seconds left.

Coming off a timeout, Jay Washington drove hard to the basket but lost the ball. Arwind Santos recovered the leather, but similarly lost possession to Sol Mercado, who in turn, committed a blunder following a passing error intended for Reynel Hugnatan.

Washington went for a basket, but his shot rimmed out. The San Miguel big man was able to tap the ball, but missed the shot again.

Santos also tried to putback the ball, but similarly misfired, before Brown finally came through with that winning shot.

"Breaks lang talaga 'yung panalo naming," Agustin added. "May halong swerte."

Coming in to replace Brown is David Young, who is a veteran of the Chinese league and plays both the no. 2 and 3 spots. He will suit up for the Beermen on their next game against Alaska Wednesday.

Its fate fast fading away, Meralco also decided to dump Mexican league slam dunk champion Anthony Dandridge with Chamberlain Oguchi, a Nigerian-American and veteran of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Developmental League, who last played for the Maine Red Claws.

Dandridge paced the Bolts with 23 points in his final outing with the ball club. His completed alley hoop play gave Meralco an 84-77 lead before the Bolts collapsed at endgame. – JVP, GMA News

Scores:
San Miguel Beer 90 - Brown 18, Washington 17, Yeo 13, Cabagnot 12, Al Hussaini 10, Santos 10, Miranda 5, Salvacion 3, Ildefonso 2, Baclao 0, Hubalde 0.

Meralco 89 - Dandridge 23, Cardona 19, Taulava 13, Espinas 12, Mercado 11, Hugnatan 11, Weinstein 0, Ross 0, Aljamal 0, Aquino 0.