MANILA, 4 November 2006 — Certainly, this San Miguel squad doesn’t need more time to jell.

The Beermen rolled to their fourth straight victory in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations last night, bringing down Purefoods 87-79 in an emotional battle of two sizzling hot squads at the Araneta Coliseum.

Danny Seigle scattered 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds despite limping out of the court in the final three minutes as San Miguel, after three straight setbacks to open its campaign, climbed to 4-3 for a share of fourth spot.

Seigle, who is back in active duty after missing out two games because of back spasms, figured in a bad fall and did not return. His status is now listed as day-to-day.

Purefoods lost for the first time in its last four games and is now at a level 4-4 card.

But it was not a loss which would keep the defending champion Chunkee Giants’ collective heads bowed, as they battled the Beermen on even terms despite missing Kerby Raymundo with just under six minutes left.

Raymundo was whistled for his final foul with still 5:51 in the contest. On his way to the Purefoods bench, Raymundo had a heated verbal altercation with Seigle which drew technical fouls for both players.

Rookie guard LA Tenorio scored nine points like shooting forward Wesley Gonzales, as the duo backed up Seigle together with Dondon Hontiveros, who finished with 11 markers.

Air21, meanwhile, showed that there is life — a lot of it — even without Ronald Tubid.

In their first game after dealing away the player that provides the most energy in the team, the Express showed more than enough grit and composure in turning back Coca-Cola, 112-110, in the first game.

Gary David, the tireless off-guard from Dinalupihan, Bataan, drilled in 27 points while seeing action for almost the entire game, to lead the Express to their third win in eight starts and showing everyone that life goes on without Tubid.

Tubid, the four-year pro who gives instant energy to the Express, was dealt to Barangay Ginebra in a one-sided swap on Monday, and most everyone believed that the potent running game of Air21 suffered because of that.

The Express got nothing but three future Draft choices for Tubid, who is seen to be the perfect No. 3 player for the Gin Kings in their drive to fulfill a pre-tournament prediction of romping off with this tournament by most experts.

“Gary knows the responsibility of elevating his game to another level after the loss of Ronald (Tubid),” said Air 21 coach Bo Perasol. “He (David) didn’t let us down.” Yancy De Ocampo banged in 20 points and 10 rebounds while Ranidel had 13 points and 11 boards that underlined their dominance in the shaded lane.

Arwind Santos tossed in 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds while Arboleda unloaded all of his eight markers in the deciding period.

“We have to continue working hard for us to find the right chemistry,” said Perasol. “It’s still a long way to go but we have to push ourselves to the limit.” San Miguel coach Chot Reyes had said that he realizes the talent that his team has, especially after bagging Rommel Adducul and Lordy Tugade in trades just two weeks ago.

He tried convincing everyone that he needed more time to see the effects of change in his team.

And no one now will dispute the fact that the change for the better has come for the Beermen, with wins over rock-solid Ginebra and against Purefoods last night included in that winning streak which is now the longest in the league.

“Our bench showed that it can play in a tight game,” Reyes said. “Danny Seigle and Dondon Hontiveros played well, but the bench clearly gave us a lift and that was key for this team in this game.” Purefoods fought hard all night, coming within 75-79 after a Jun Limpot triple with 1:42 left on the clock, before Hontiveros answered with a trey of his own that gave the Beermen the buffer they needed.

Limpot, the senior citizen in the Purefoods lineup who won his first PBA title when the Giants ruled this tournament the last time out, scored 16 points to lead the team.