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| Cedric Bozeman and Zach Graham made their respective debuts in the Governor's Cup, with Bozeman's Kings winning over Graham's Express. |
BGY. GINEBRA KINGS over AIR 21 EXPRESS, 103-85
Mark Caguioa's return to Barangay Ginebra was made grander by Cedric Bozeman and Allein Maliksi.
With their leader back on the court and providing a big boost with his mere presence alone, the Kings had little trouble disposing off Air21 Wednesday in their PBA Governors’ Cup debut at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Wearing a pair of protective glasses to protect the eye he injured last March 30, Caguioa scored 15 points, each one of his five baskets lustily cheered on by his teammates.
Maliksi was not to be left out as he added 11 of his 13 in the fourth period to spark Ginebra's runaway win and become one of the key backups to Bozeman's team-high 29 points and game-high 13 rebounds.
The rookie, sidelined since October by a strained lateral cruciate ligament, was simply on fire, with his baseline jumper over two defenders giving Ginebra its first 20-point lead at 87-67.
The win was also fashioned despite the absence of Jayjay Helterbrand, who had to attend the graduation of his daughter in the US, and Eric Menk, who pulled a hamstring in practice and will be out at least two more weeks.
Having had only about eight practices with the team, Caguioa admitted he is just at about 80 percent game-shape and he still needs to take medication for the intermittent headaches his injury brought about.
Zach Graham wound up with 31 points to lead all scorers and also grabbed 12 rebounds, but did not have the same kind of support his former teammate with the Reno Bighorns had as Air21 dropped its opening assignment for the second time in three conferences.
BGK 103 - Bozeman 29, Caguioa 15, Maliksi 13, Hatfield 10, Ababou 9, Cortez 8, Raymundo 7, Wilson W. 6, Wilson J. 3, Labagala 2, Villanueva 1, Maierhofer 0, Canaleta 0.
A21 85 - Graham 31, Ritualo 13, Sena 11, Isip 6, Omolon 6, Jazul 5, Espiritu 4, Sison 4,
Bagatsing 3, Hubalde 2, Menor 0, Faundo 0.
QS: 23-18, 45-39, 71-62, 103-85
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| Mark Caguioa returned to action sporting a protective visor. |
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| Allein Maliksi waxed hot in the fourth period to help the Kings ward off the Express's run. (image by Paul Ryan Tan/InterAKTV) |
MERALCO BOLTS over TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS, 105-99
Having lost all its previous five encounters with Talk n Text, Meralco made sure to finally pull this one with the Texters severely handicapped by injuries.
The Bolts had their anxious moments early on but got going in the final half, opening their campaign in the PBA Governors Cup with a win over the Texters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.
Returning import Champ Oguchi and Sol Mercado combined for 53 points to lead the Bolts to a triumphant start in the season-ending tourney where they finished eighth last year.
Reynel Hugnatan churned out double-double numbers with 12 points and 12 rebounds while Mark Cardona fired 15 points for the Bolts who are hoping to improve on their sixth place finish in the recent Commissioner’s Cup.
Though short-handed, the Texters put up a tough fight with Paul Harris leading their bid with game-highs of 32 points and 13 rebounds. Ironically, Harris also had the most number of errors with eight. The Bolts forced the Texters to a total of 21 turnovers and produced 24 points off those.
MB 105 – Oguchi 29, Mercado 24, Cardona 15, Hugnatan 12, Taulava 9, Artadi 8, Macapagal 4, Ross 3, Reyes 1.
TNT 99 – Harris 32, De Ocampo 17, Aban 13, Peek 11, Raymundo 9, Fonacier 9, Dillinger 8, Gamalinda 0, Aguilar 0, Alvarez 0, Lao 0.
QS: 22-28; 54-52; 83-78; 105-99.
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| Champ Oguchi led the Bolts to their first ever victory over their sister team. |
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| Sol Mercado was the highest-scoring local in their game against TNT. (image by Paul Ryan Tan/InterAKTV) |
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| Man-mountains Asi Taulava and Ali Peek collide underneath the basket. |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game recaps were compressed and compiled from InterAKTV.com
*Unless otherwise specified, all images are by Paolo Papa/InterAKTV.com
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