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| Rey Gurvarra flushes it down the middle of the Alaska defense. Boom! |
POWERADE TIGERS over ALASKA ACES, 114-97
After being glued on the bench for a good part of his career, Rey Guevarra finally exploded for his new team Powerade, scoring a career-high 15 points to help the Tigers wallop Alaska, 114-97, to nail their first win in the PBA Governors’ Cup Friday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Bothered by injuries in his young two-year career, the former Letran Knight provided the much-needed spark for Powerade to pull away in the third quarter, highlighted by a highlight-reel dunk over Alaska import Jason Forte.
Gary David poured in 31 points, but this time he got ample support from his teammates, something that was absent in their first two games that they lost. Five other Tigers scored in double digits, thanks to the 11 assists by new import Omar Sneeds, who debuted after replacing Rashad Mccants. He also chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds.
New acquisitions Rabah Al-Hussaini and Jondan Salvador also delivered for Powerade, scoring 13 and 12 points apiece. Top draft pick Jvee Casio also scored 13.
Guevarra, along with Al-Hussaini, was acquired by Powerade from Petron in exchange for Marcio Lassiter at the start of the conference.
The game was still within reach for Alaska in the first half, countering Powerade’s attack to be within eight after two quarters, 50-42.
But Powerade shut Alaska down in the third, as David and Guevarra conspired on a 15-6 run to give the Tigers a 22-point cushion after the quarter, 86-64.
Since then, Powerade never looked back, killing every Alaska comeback in the final quarter.
Forte led the Aces with 25 points, while Cyrus Baguio scored 16 points.
POW 114 – David 31, Guevarra 15, Sneed 13, Al-Hussaini 13, Casio 13, Salvador 12, Vanlandingham 7, Martinez 4, Anthony 4, Antonio 2, Allera 0.
ALA 97 – Forte 25, Baguio 16, Espinas 10, Thoss 10, Jazul 8, Dela Cruz 8, Eman 6, Custodio 5, Baracael 4, Tenorio 4, Cablay 1, Gelig 0.
QS: 24-20, 50-42, 86-64, 114-97
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| Joseph Forte led the Aces' losing effort with 25 markers. |
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| Gary David and the Tigers started the weekend on a bright note by beating the Aces. |
B-MEG LLAMADOS over BARAKO BULL ENERGY, 95-90
Playing without two of its key players, B-MEG relied on their boundless energy to survive a late Barako Bull rally in the fourth quarter.
Import Marqus Blakely and the comebacking Marc Pingris provided plenty of energy, especially on the boards, as they lifted the Llamados to a 95-90 triumph over Barako Bull on Friday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The two combined for 40 points and 26 rebounds as they made up for the absence of injured teammates Joe Devance and PJ Simon to lead B-MEG to their second straight win.
The Llamados improved their record to 2-1.
Blakely, the former Vermont University standout, finished with 29 points and 15 rebounds despite playing with back spasms.
He left the game at one point, but returned in the latter part of the third period. His return re-energized the Llamados as he scored four points to close out the third period and give his team a sizeable lead, 70-56.
Pingris, meanwhile, took the floor despite nursing a dislocated finger. He ended up scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 boards, as the Llamados dominated the rebounding battle against Barako Bull.
Miller nearly single-handedly carried the fight for the Energy with 29 points as the team couldn’t get anything out of import Jamine Peterson, who ended the game with only four points and sat out most of the second half.
Barako Bull team manager Raffy Casyao told InterAKTV that they’re now discussing who will replace Peterson as the team’s import.
BML 95 – Blakely 29, Yap 15, Pingris 11, Reavis 10, De Ocampo 10, Urbiztondo 8, Barroca 5, Villanueva 4, Intal 3, Gaco 0.
BAR 90 – Miller 29, Najorda 13, Cruz 9, Allado 9, Weinstein 7, Tubid 7, Pennisi 6, Peterson 4, Seigle 4, Kramer 2, Salvacion 0
QS: 18-20, 42-41, 70-56, 95-90
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| Marqus Blakely's 29 big ones helped the Llamados stem the comeback drive of the Energy. |
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| James Yap tries to shake off his old nemesis, Willie Miller. |
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| Mick Pennisi, Mr. Flop himself, sported a queer-looking mask to protect himself from more face-bound basketball throws. |
BGY. GINEBRA KINGS over MERALCO BOLTS, 100-73
Barangay Ginebra brought its defensive intensity – and the result was positive for the team.
The Kings clamped down on the Meralco Bolts’ gunners and hammered out a convincing 100-73 triumph in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup game on the road on Saturday in Lapu-Lapu City.
“It’s good our defense held up and we held them to 73 points. I think that’s the key,” said Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen.
Tanquingcen was criticized for his rotation choices, particularly in benching rookie Dylan Ababou, in a loss to the B-MEG Llamados last time around, but drew big games from Mark Caguioa, Alein Maliksi and Rico Maierhofer in this one.
Caguioa finished with 22 points, including a bundle in the second half.
Maliksi, playing the same position as Ababou, contributed 16 markers while Maierhofer chipped in seven points while playing both forward spots.
“Mark played well in the second half and in the crucial stretch. Everybody contributed in scoring and in defending. Our rotation has always been our rotation,” explained Tanquingcen.
Cedric Bozeman led all scorers with 27 points and completely outplayed his counterpart, Champ Oguchi, who struggled for 16 markers.
The Kings also did a great job in taking the rhythm out of Mac Cardona, who only had two points.
With his team getting back on track, Tanquingcen’s main concern is how to keep the team’s consistency. They will try to see it in their next game against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, a team which hasn’t lost in the tournament.
“Our next game will be against Rain or Shine. They’re leading right now, but we’ll see what we can do,” he added.
GIN 100 – Bozeman 27, Caguioa 22, , Raymundo 13, Cortez 8, Maierhofer 7, Ababou 4, Hatfield 2, Mamaril 2, Labagala 2, Wilson 2, Helterbrand 0.
MER 73 – Mercado 23, Hugnatan 18, Oguchi 16, Taulava 4, Artadi 4, Macapagal 4, Cardona 2, Daa 2, Reyes 0, Ross 0.
QS: 25-13, 41-39, 67-57, 100-73
POWERADE TIGERS over TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS, 110-105
The Powerade Tigers, behind a monstrous performance from import Omar Sneed and a big spark from recent acquisition Rey Guevarra, defeated the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, 110-105, Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Sneed posted 32 points, 23 rebounds, three assists and two steals while Guevarra scored eight of his 11 points in the crucial fourth quarter as Powerade survived a late rally to improve their record to 2-2.
The Tigers turned a seven-point halftime deficit into a double-digit advantage entering the final period after outscoring a fatigued-looking Tropang Texters unit, 31-17, in the third.
But Kelly Williams and Jimmy Alapag scored 10 of Talk ‘N Text’s first 12 points in the fourth as the Texters came out with more energy and closed the margin to just five, 85-80, with 9:05 remaining.
But Guevarra countered with another highlight-reel dunk reminiscent of the one he threw down against Alaska in their previous game.
The Texters would make one more charge when import Paul Harris, who finished with 22 points in the game, scored six straight points to cut the deficit down to 104-100 with 1:13 to play. But Talk ‘N Text missed crucial free throws in the end game as Powerade hung on for the win.
Sneed was simply stellar in his second game after debuting with a near triple-double against Alaska last Friday. He was all over the floor – scoring, rebounding and defending – as he kept the Tigers unbeaten since replacing Rashad McCants.
Sneed admitted after the game that he came out motivated because of talk that Texters import Harris was a better player than him.
He certainly made a strong case for himself in this one.
In one key play in the fourth, Sneed showed off his impressive defensive instincts when he stripped a streaking Alapag in the backcourt and finished for an uncontested layup where he tucked one hand behind his head, like former NBA star Karl Malone used to do.
Gary David kept his streak of games with 20 or more points going – up to 18 games now – as he scored 28 points. He struggled in the first half, shooting just 3-for-12, but broke out in the third with three straight three-pointers, the last of which giving the Tigers its first lead in the second half.
Rabeh Al-Hussaini added 10 points for Powerade while JVee Casio scored eight.
Harris’ 22 paced Talk ‘N Text, who dropped to a dangerous 1-3 win-loss mark in the short conference, while Alapag scored 17 to lead the locals. Ali Peek scored 16 and Ranidel De Ocampo added 15 for the Texters.
POW 110 – Sneed 32, David 28, Guevarra 11, Al-Hussaini 10, Casio 8, Lingganay 7, Salvador 6, Anthony 4, Antonio 2, Vanladingham 2, Tugade 0.
TNT 105 – Harris 22, Alapag 17, Peek 16, De Ocampo 15, Williams 13, Fonacier 11, Gamalinda 5, Aban 2, Aguilar 2, Dillinger 2, Alvarez 0, Raymundo 0.
QS: 20-25, 44-51, 78-68, 110-105.
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| Undersized forward Will Antonio tries to slither past TNT's Japeth Aguilar. |
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| Omar Sneed carried Powerade to a 2-0 weekend with 32 big points. |
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| Jimmy Alapag and the Texters couldn't find a way around the toughness of the Tigers. |
PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS over ALASKA ACES, 107-94
The Petron Blaze Boosters found a way to close out a resilient Alaska Aces team that just wouldn’t go away to win, 107-92, Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum and raise its record to 3-1 in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Eddie Basden finished with 29 points, alongside five assists and four steals, while four locals scored in double-digits as Petron bounced back from a tough loss to rival Talk ‘N Text in their previous assignment.
The Boosters were in control for most of the game, but just couldn’t put away the Aces, who had an answer every time Petron threatened to pull away.
Petron looked primed to take a huge 18-point advantage into the fourth quarter after a jumper from Basden gave them a 78-60 lead.
But Aces guard LA Tenorio heaved a long three from beyond the halfcourt line that somehow found the bottom of the net right before the buzzer.
Alaska then opened the fourth quarter with seven straight points to cut the lead down to just 11.
But Petron Blaze, living up to its name, pushed the pace in transition en route to a quick 10-0 run. Dorian Pena and Chris Lutz easily scored back-to-back buckets on similar 4-on-2 breaks while Danny Ildefonso sandwiched another Lutz score between a jumper and a hard drive to the hole.
After Cyrus Baguio ended the drought for Alaska, the Boosters looked like they would finally put things away when Arwind Santos blocked a layup attempt by Gabby Espinas on the break and the team found Basden alone on the other end for a thrilling monster jam that put them up 90-69 with just 6:53 to play.
With the game seemingly in hand, Basden would take a seat on the bench, and was shown chatting with teammate Axel Doruelo right before Santos hit a three to give the Boosters a seemingly insurmountable 98-76 lead late in the game.
But thoughts of calling it an early night would vanish when the Aces, behind Espinas and import Jason Forte, cut a 99-78 lead with 3:02 remaining to just 11 in a span of just 50 seconds.
Basden would come back and score four straight points, including another uncontested dunk with 1:09 left, to restore order and end any hopes of an Alaska comeback.
Petron got plenty of production from all over their deep rotation. Their reserves scored 42 points in the win.
Lutz scored 14 points, Santos added 13 while Ildefonso and Jay Washington scored 12 apiece for the Boosters. Three other players – Joseph Yeo, Denok Miranda and Dorian Pena – scored seven each.
Alaska big men Espinas and Sonny Thoss scored 18 each to lead the Aces, while Tenorio added 17.
Forte was held down to just 16 points, but grabbed 15 boards for Alaska.
PET 107 – Basden 29, Lutz 14, Santos 13, Ildefonso 12, Washington 12, Miranda 7, Pena 7, Yeo 7, Doruelo 2, Lanete 2, Baclao 0, Reyes 0.
ALA 94 – Espinas 18, Thoss 18, Tenorio 17, Baguio 16, Forte 16, Baracael 5, Custodio 2, Jazul 2, Dela Cruz 0, Eman 0.
QS: 23-18, 47-39, 78-63, 107-94.
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| Gabby Espinas was a tower-of-power for the Alaska Aces against Petron. |
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| Eddie Basden soars thru open air in this highlight-worthy play. |
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| Chris Lutz tries to avoid the stretched defense of Alaska's Sonny Thoss. |
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| Let's end this roundup with one of the most beautiful things about Philippine Basketball :) |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game recaps were compressed and compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Karl Decena, Reynaldo Belen, and Mikkel Bolante)
Images: All images are from InterAKTV. (Photo credit to Paolo Papa and Paul Ryan Tan)
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