MANILA: Arizona Reid redeemed himself in a big way on Monday night, and San Miguel Beer is once again in the driver’s seat of its Final Four match-up with Rain or Shine in the PBA Governors’ Cup.

After practically being absent in the endgame of a monumental Game 2 foldup two nights before, Reid led the Beermen in a telling surge late in the fourth quarter, with a 114-108 decision of the Elasto Painters putting them within another win of the Finals at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

“You can see it in AZ’s (Reid’s) eyes, he didn’t want to lose,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria said of his import, who tallied 37, five assists, four rebounds and three steals that put the Beermen on the brink of a second title series appearance this season.

San Miguel broke free from a 103-101 game by holding Rain or Shine scoreless for more than three minutes, scooting to a 110-101 lead after four points and an assist by Reid for an Alex Cabagnot triple.

That more or less was the story of the game as San Miguel earned two chances to wrap this thing up starting with Wednesday’s Game 4 also at the storied Big Dome floor.

Another thing that gave the Beermen the win was their ability to limit Wendell McKines this time, holding the Rain or Shine import to just 15 second half points.

McKines, who exploded for 33 of his 53 points in the second half of Game 2, tossed in 24 in the first half alone but was effectively shackled by the San Miguel defense in the stretch.

The victory also laid the ghosts of the Beermen’s Game 2 breakdown to rest, so to speak and have them all the boost they need to end this series at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night.

“That was very frustrating,” Austria said of the 110-113 Game 2 loss, adding that it was particularly painful since they dropped the game because of one big shot from Jeff Chan coming in the final 7.6 seconds.

“But that happens in a game. We also did it to them in Game 1 (where Rain or Shine lost a 24-point lead in the first half),” he went on. “I told them (Beermen) to put that (Game 2 loss) aside because that’s a thing of the past.”

This is (now down) to a best-of-three series and Game 1 is very pivotal,” he concluded.

Alex Cabagnot was also big, shooting half of his 26 points in the first period, with Marcio Lassiter and June Mar Fajardo chipping in 17 apiece to complete a four-sided attack that made up for Arwind Santos’ lackluster offensive night.

Santos, the former MVP, finished with just two points in 22 minutes.

Another win by the Beermen would seal a second title series clash with Alaska later this week.

The Aces swept Star off its reign on Sunday night and became the first finalists, having the luxury of a long rest before the title series starts two days after the San Miguel Beer-Rain or Shine Final Four playoff ends.

McKines finished with 39 points, 12 rebounds and three assists and couldn’t rescue the Elasto Painters this time.

Paul Lee, Rain or Shine’s super combo guard, added 22 with Chan shooting 13 and Gabe Norwood 12. Chris Tiu was the fifth man in twin digits for the Painters with 10.

Beau Belga sat out a second straight game for the Painters because of a severely-sprained right ankle, and JR Quinahan and Raymond Almazan had difficulty manning the slot for Rain or Shine.