Powerhouse San Miguel Beer took advantage of Kelly Williams’ woeful shooting performance last night to down defending champion Sta. Lucia Realty, 89-71, and regain the solo lead in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Lordy Tugade led a balanced attack by the Beermen with 19 points while new recruit Jay Washington, whom they got via a “Draft Day” trade with Talk ’N Text, finished with another double-double performance with 14 points and 12 boards.

Hulking center Dorian Pena also produced numbers befitting his size with 15 points and 9 rebounds while rookie Bonbon Custodio and Dondon Hontiveros chipped in 11 points each as the Beermen recovered from a slow start to hand the Realtors a severe beating.

The win not only enabled the Beermen to redeem themselves from a painful 113-114 setback to Red Bull last Saturday in Misamis Oriental that snapped a four-game winning streak, but more importantly, it propelled them back to No. 1 with a 5-2 win-loss card.

Sta. Lucia, on the other hand, suffered its first back-to-back defeats as it fell into a five-way tie for third with Air21, Red Bull, Talk ’N Text and Rain or Shine — all carrying 3-3 records.

Williams, the reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) was a pathetic sight on the floor as he finished with a 1-of-18 shooting from the field. His only basket was a three-pointer with 1:10 to play, and the win already in the bag for SMB.

It was Williams’ worst performance since joining the league two years ago. His previous low was five which happened twice last year against Air21 and Alaska.

The game, set at 6 p.m., was delayed for more than 30 minutes after the goal on the San Miguel side in the first half collapsed while venue maintenance were installing it several hours before tip-off

Meantime, Gabe Norwood and Jared Dillenger, the top two picks in the Rookie Draft, come face to face for the first time as Rain or Shine and Talk ’N Text clash in what promises to be an exciting battle today at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Elasto Painters and the Tropang Texters, currently in a four-way tie at fourth spot with Red Bull and Air21, meet in the curtain raiser a 5 p.m. All four teams are toting similar 3-3 cards.

The Express, fresh from slaying a giant in Alaska Milk, collide with the Purefoods TJ Giants (2-4) in the second game at 7:30 p.m.

After dropping its first three assignments, Air21, which came close of winning their first PBA title in the previous Fiesta Cup, won three straight games capped by a nail-biting 109-107 win against Alaska the other day.

Veteran guard Gary David nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer that lifted the Express to that thrilling win.

But Air21 coach Bo Perasol’s wards are up against a determined Purefoods side, which is fresh from a 92-81 triumph versus sister-team Barangay Ginebra that snapped a three-game skid last Sunday.

“The challenge is for us to be consistent,” Perasol said. “We won the last three games because we exerted a lot of effort. We need to fight for our slot.”

“We’re looking for our first back-to-back wins. One win can push us up to the middle of the leader board. Air 21 is on a three-game upsurge, and their confidence level is high,” Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio said.

The scores:

San Miguel 89 — Tugade 19, Pena 15, Washington 14, Custodio 11, Hontiveros 11, Gonzales 9, Villanueva 6, Racela 2, Bono 2, Pennisi 0.

Sta. Lucia 71 — Omolon 15, Yeo 13, Espino 9, Gonzales 9, Aquino 7, Mendoza 6, Miranda 6, Williams 3, Coronel 3, Mamaclay 0, Daa 0

Quarters: 15-21, 40-42, 65-56, 89-71.