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| Sol Mercado and Bonbon Custodio get into an altercation as the Aces sink deeper into a winless hole. |
*All images by Nuki Sabio/PBA.ph
MERALCO BOLTS over ALASKA ACES, 81-75
Meralco beat the best team in its last outing. The Bolts definitely wouldn’t forgive themselves had they lost to a winless ball club. Pounding the boards hard and getting big games from the returning Mark Cardona and Chico Lanete, Meralco outlasted Alaska for its first back-to-back win in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The Bolts out-rebounded the Aces, 54-28, while Cardona and Lanete combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter to deal Alaska its fifth straight defeat, its worst start in an All-Filipino tournament according to statistical records since 1992.
Lanete finished with 17 points and Mark Isip and Cardona each added 10 for Meralco. Sol Mercado contributed 8 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
Sonny Thoss collected 19 points and 6 rebounds, Cyrus Baguio had 18 points and Jay-R Reyes contributed 11 points and 8 rebounds for Alaska.
It was, indeed, an unusual ending for the Aces. The team noted for its poise lost its composure late in the game, with Tony De La Cruz bungling an open jumper and Baguio committing a turnover while trying to outmaneuver a defender as Meralco was only ahead, 78-75.
The error by Baguio led to two gift shots by Gabby Espinas. Espinas knocked in both with 11 seconds left, and Thoss missed a hook shot in the ensuing possession.
Meralco 81 - Lanete 17, Isip 10, Cardona 10, Mercado 8, Espinas 8, Omolon 8, Macapagal 7, Borboran 4, Taulava 4, Ballesteros 3, Yee 2, Faundo 0.
Alaska 75 - Thoss 19, Baguio 18, Reyes 11, Dela Cruz 8, Tenorio 7, Baracael 4, Custodio 4, Mepana 2, Cablay 2, Eman 0.
QS: 20-19, 36-36, 52-56, 81-75.
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| The Aces have yet to find their breakthrough win in the 2011 Philippine Cup. |
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| Jason Ballesteros blocks a shot by Jay-R Reyes. |
TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS over PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS, 96-86
Four Talk n Text players put up huge numbers, giving the crippled team the needed lift to beat Petron Blaze for a share of the lead with Rain or Shine.
Jared Dillinger and Ryan Reyes top scored with 21 points each while Japeth Aguilar and Ali Peek combined for 32 points and 29 rebounds as the Texters bucked the absence of three key players, carving out the win that somehow eased the pain of their loss to the Boosters in the Governors Cup finals.
The Texters did a good job covering for the absence of Jimmy Alapag, Harvey Carey and Ranidel de Ocampo, repulsing the Boosters to catch up with the Elasto Painters in the lead at 4-1. The Boosters slid to joint fifth with the Barangay Ginebra Kings as they reeled with a second straight loss after being upset by the Meralco Bolts Sunday.
Dillinger and Reyes flashed hot shooting hands, nailing three triples each. Aguilar broke out of a personal slump firing 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Peek also had a double-double outing with 15 caroms and 12 points.
Talk N Text 96 - Dillinger 21, Reyes 21, Aguilar 20, Peek 12, Williams 8, Castro 7, Fonacier 7, Raymundo 0, Oreta 0, Lao 0.
Petron 86 - Lutz 20, Santos 20, Cabagnot 16, Ildefonso 10, Yeo 8, Baclao 6, Sharma 4, Guevarra 2, Agustin 0, Reyes 0.
QS: 29-20, 48-36, 75-62, 96-86
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| Chot Reyes looks on as Jared Dillinger grimaces on the floor. |
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| Chris Lutz passes off amidst the defense of TNT's Japeth Aguilar. |
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| Kelly Williams emphatically collars the rebound to help the Texters win over the Blazers. |
BARAKO BULL ENERGY over B-MEG LLAMADOS, 87-84
Barako Bull showed more energy in a draining out-of-town battle here with B-Meg Saturday night, escaping with an overtime win and a piece of tournament eadership. The Energy outlasted the Llamados and drew level with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Talk n Text Tropang Texters atop the PBA Philippine Cup leader board.
Willie Miller came through with 18 points and 4 rebounds to lead Barako Bull. The Energy got away with the three-point decision with the Llamados missing a shot and committing three errors in the final 1:25 of play. The winning team itself ran into a maze of errors but pulled through as they went ahead to stay, 86-84, on a tough shot by Wynne Arboleda off Josh Urbiztondo with still 1:07 left.
B-Meg forced the extension play as James Yap knocked in a three-pointer with 1.8 ticks left in regulation. The regulation play was marked by several momentum shifts with B-Meg opening the game with a 7-0 run, Barako sparking a second-quarter chase and the two teams trading more runs in the final half.
Don Allado became the 29th player in league history to accumulate at least 1,000 offensive rebounds in the contest.
Barako Bull 87 – Miller 18, Ababou 15, Seigle 15, Pennisi 8, Arboleda 7, Salvacio 6, Peña 6, Salvador 5, Artadi 5, Allado 2, Avenido 0
B-Meg 84 – Yap J 20, Raymundo 15, Yap R 12, Simon 11, Barroca 9, De Vance 9, Pingris 5, Urbiztondo 3, Reavis 0
QS: 13-25, 37-39, 62-58, 79-79, 87-84 (OT)
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| Willie Miller led the Energy again to stay within striking distance of the top teams. |
POWERADE TIGERS over PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS, 108-94
The reigning league scoring champ was back with his guns ablaze, mowing down the Petron Blaze Boosters. Gary David sprang back strong from a struggle in their last game, exploding with a career-best 42 points to lead Powerade to a win over Petron Blaze. David delivered that huge output curiously after being held down to 7 points in their game versus B-Meg Wednesday. It was the first time in the last five conferences that the prolific scorer was limited to a single-digit number.
David went 4-of-6 from the three-point area, 11-of-13 from the two-point zone and 8-of-10 from the stripe as he almost single-handedly carried the Tigers past the Boosters.
David went firing right in the first quarter, engaging Arwind Santos in a fiery shootout until the Petron ace was ejected from the game on a flagrant infraction on Ricky Calimag with 3:14 left to play. Calimag made both charities then David, Doug Kramer and Sean Anthony had their own baskets in a crucial run opening a 98-89 lead for the Tigers entering the final minute.
Santos had put in double-double numbers with 23 points and 10 rebounds before being banished from the game. Alex Cabagnot also came through a double-double game with 22 points and 13 assists while Danny Ildefonso added 13 rebounds and nine points for the Boosters.
Powerade 108 - David 42, Kramer 18, Lingganay 11, Lassiter 11, Calimag 9, Casio 6, Antonio 4, Anthony 3, Vanlandingham 2, Crisano 2, Adducul 0.
Petron 94 - Santos 23, Cabagnot 22, Lutz 15, Ildefonso 9, Agustin 6, Sharma 6, Yeo 5, Miranda 4, Guevarra 2, Reyes 2, Doruelo 0, Baclao 0.
QS: 20-30, 48-47, 74-77, 108-94
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| Gary David had to work for every one of his career-high 42 points. |
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| Marcio Lassiter shows his moves as he drives under Danny Ildefonso's outstretched arm. |
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| Chris Lutz had another good scoring outing in a losing effort against the Tigers. |
RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO PAINTERS over MERALCO BOLTS, 139-95
In a single game, Rain or Shine registered a PBA all-time record and four new franchise marks. The outcome was so one-sided that Mark Cardona and Sol Mercado should have decided not to suit up. As a result, the two superstars have merely become footnotes.
Rain or Shine emphatically set a new league record for most three-point shots converted in a game, and with it went on to record its biggest margin of victory, its highest output and best field-goal percentage in franchise history last night, tearing Meralco apart right in the first half.
The Elasto Painters knocked in 22 three-point shots to establish a fresh record since the PBA reverted to the old and farther rainbow country line of 22 feet in the 2009-10 season. They fell just one three-point shot short of matching the 23 defending champion Talk ‘N Text accomplished twice (2007-08 and 2008-09) when the league went along with the 20.5 distance of the FIBA rules.
Ronjay Buenafe scored 15 of his 24 points in the breakaway second quarter, and rookie Paul Lee got the better end of his highly-anticipated confrontation with Sol Mercado with a balanced production of 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists as the Elasto Painters nailed down their fifth win with only a single loss to show.
Jeff Chan added 20 points and Belga had 14 on 4-of-4 shooting from rainbow country. Jervy Cruz and Ronnie Matias each contributed 10 points. Gabe Norwood had 9 assists and 7 points. The Elasto Painters, who led by as huge as 45 points (101-56), also shot 53 of their 80 attempts from the floor for a franchise record 66% clip.
Cardona had 25 points, Nerlbert Omolon 13, and Mercado 12 for the Bolts, who walked into the contest noted for their defense having limited opponents to an average output of 80 points.
Rain or Shine 139 - Buenafe 24, Chan 20, Lee 19, Belga 14, Cruz 10, Matias 10, Quinahan 10, Norwood 7, Rodriguez 7, Arana 6, Ibanes 5, Jaime 4, Uyloan 3.
Meralco 95 - Cardona 25, Omolon 13, Mercado 12, Espinas 12, Isip 9, Hugnatan 9, Laete 4, Faundo 3, Yee 3, Macapagal 3, Ballesteros 2, Taulava 0, Borboran 0.
QS: 33-20, 68-41, 106-64, 139-95.
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| Gabby Espinas takes a hit from ROS's burly forward, Beau Belga. |
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| Paul Lee hangs in the air to continue his impressive play as a rookie. |
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| Ryan Araña barrels thru the Meralco defense. |
Source: Game recaps were compressed and compiled from PBA.ph
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