 |
| Robert Jaworski's iconic #7 Ginebra jersey was retired by the PBA last night. |
BGY. GINEBRA KINGS over MERALCO BOLTS, 89-76
Winning back-to-back has been elusive for the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
But with a fresh start in the semifinals, Ginebra ran roughshod over the Meralco Bolts anew, 89-76, on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City to post consecutive victories for the first time in the Governors’ Cup.
Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen wanted his team to take care of the ball to limit opportunities for the Bolts, and it worked.
Kerby Raymundo led the way for the Gin Kings, coming up with a double-double performance of 16 points and 13 rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.
It was the second lopsided victory by Ginebra over Meralco this conference. The Gin Kings won over the Bolts, 100-73 last June 2 in Lapu-Lapu City.
High-scoring Meralco guard Mac Cardona had a quiet 12 points and was hardly a factor for his squad.
The Gin Kings outmuscled the Bolts in the battle of the boards, 61-41. Ginebra also clobbered Meralco on second chance points, 20-6.
Ginebra posted leads as high as 25, the last of which happened early in the fourth quarter, 79-54.
GIN 89 – Raymundo 16, Bozeman 13, Maliksi 12, Caguioa 10, Cortez 8, W. Wilson 6, Menk 6, Ababou 5, Villanueva 5, Helterbrand 5, Maierhofer 2, Hatfield 1, Mamaril 0.
MER 76 – West 22, Taulava 17, Mercado 12, Cardona 12, Hugnatan 9, Ross 2, Artadi 2, Bulawan 0, Ballesteros 0, Daa 0, Reyes 0, Macapagal 0.
QS: 25-10, 43-30, 73-50, 89-76
 |
| Kerby Raymundo stepped up big time as the Kings railroaded the Bolts. |
PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS over RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS, 90-88
Arwind Santos turned from goat to hero in the last seven seconds of the game, helping the Petron Blaze Boosters escape a gritty Rain or Shine five, 90-88.
Santos’s put-back off a missed shot by Alex Cabagnot gave the Boosters a 90-86 lead and proved to be the insurance basket the team needed to pull out the hard-earned victory.
Rain or Shine threatened to steal the game late after trailing by as many as 23 points in the first half.
Prior to his crucial follow-up shot, Santos committed two crucial blunders late in the game, including a foul on a basket by Jamelle Cornley that cut the Petron lead to just four points, 88-84. Luckily for Santos, Cornley failed to complete the three-point play.
In the next play, new Petron Blaze import Marcus Faison lost his balance and turned the ball over, allowing Gabe Norwood to score in transition and moved Rain or Shine to within a basket.
But Santos made up for his lapses, and the 6-foot-4 forward had his crucial tip-in in the ensuing possession.
Rain or Shine scored on its next offensive trip — a jumper from Cornley –- but time ran out on them, allowing Petron to notch its sixth win in 10 games and forge a tie for third to fourth places with the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
PET 90 – Faison 20, Yeo 14, Santos 12, Washington 11, Cabagnot 9, Lutz 7, Reyes 6, Miranda 6, Pena 5, Baclao 0, Hontiveros 0.
ROS 88 – Cornley 36, Lee 15, Norwood 10, Chan 10, Cruz 7, Belga 6, Matias 2, Tang 2, Arana 0, Quinahan 0, Buenafe 0, Ibanes 0.
QS: 29-24, 56-39, 72-62, 90-88
 |
| Marcus Faison helped the Boosters hand the Painters just their second loss of the conference. |
B-MEG LLAMADOS over TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS, 94-91
With James Yap riding the bench due to back spasms, B-MEG turned to its unsung heroes to help finish the job.
Rafi Reavis, Yancy de Ocampo, and Mark Barroca stepped up in the absence of the Llamados’ key players as B-Meg came from behind to defeat Talk ‘N Text, 94-91, in the first televised basketball game at the new SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Import Marqus Blakely had a monster line of 26 points, 20 rebounds, three assists, five steals and four blocks. He got ample support from Reavis and De Ocampo, who combined for 22 points and nine rebounds, and Barroca, who added seven points and eight rebounds.
Already missing JC Intal and Joe Devance, who is out for the conference, B-Meg lost Yap in the first half because of back problems.
The Llamados picked up their seventh win in 10 games, putting them a game behind the league-leading Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
The Llamados trailed by as many as 11 points in the first period, 27-16, on a basket by Paul Harris.
But a 12-3 run in the second period, capped by Marc Pingis’ back-to-back baskets, tied the game at 31-all.
From then on, it was a see-saw battle until the final minute of the match.
Split charities by Josh Urbiztondo in the last 40 seconds gave the Llamados a 94-88 lead, but the Tropang Texters refused to fold up easily.
Larry Fonacier hit a three-pointer in the next play, then Jayson Castro forced a turnover on Barroca in the next play, allowing Talk ‘N Text another opportunity to tie the game with a three-pointer.
But Ranidel de Ocampo’s attempt went off the mark. After Simon missed two free throws in the Llamados’ next offensive trip, De Ocampo lost the ball on the rebound play allowing B-MEG to preserve the win.
BML 94 – Blakely 26, Urbiztondo 14, Pingris 12, Reavis 12, De Ocampo 10, Simon 8, Barroca 7, Villanueva 5, Yap 0.
TNT 91 – Harris 24, Alapag 17, Castro 15, Williams 13, Fonacier 9, Aguilar 8, De Ocampo 3, Reyes 2, Aban 0, Lao 0, Peek 0.
QS: 19-27, 39-49, 67-67, 94-91
 |
| Yancy De Ocampo came thru with 10 points as the Llamados won despite being undermanned. |
RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS over MERALCO BOLTS, 99-86
Rain or Shine bucked the ejection of coach Yeng Guiao late in the first half and scored a 99-86 win over Meralco to get back on track for its first ever finals appearance Sunday in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Guiao was thrown out with 2.9 seconds remaining in the second period after getting back-to-back technical fouls, but this did not dampen the spirit of the Elasto-Painters.
Beau Belga, rookie Paul Lee and import Jamelle Cornley led Rain or Shine’s decisive run in the fourth period to bounce back from a loss to Petron Blaze and improve the team’s league-leading win-loss mark to 9-2.
The Bolts were still in the thick of things after Mario West completed a three-point play to give his team a 76-75 advantage with under nine minutes remaining.
But the troika of Belga, Lee and Cornley anchored a 21-6 explosion capped by Lee’s three-pointer to put the game out of reach, 96-82, 2:32 left in the game.
Cornley led the Elasto Painters with 21 points and 14 rebounds while Lee added 16 points. Ronjay Buenafe chipped in 10.
West led all scorers with 33 points for Meralco, which absorbed its second straight loss in the semifinals to bomb out in the race for the four-of-five incentive.
Mark Cardona and Chris Ross netted 19 and 15 points respectively for the squad of coach Ryan Gregorio.
ROS 99 - Cornley 21, Lee 16, Buenafe 10, Belga 8, Chan 8, Ibanes 8, Norwood 7, Arana 7, Quinahan 6, Cruz 5, Rodriguez 3.
MER 86 - West 33, Cardona 19, Ross 15, Reyes 11, Hugnatan 4, Bulawan 2, Mercado 2, Macapagal 0, Taulava 0.
QS: 26-13, 45-44, 68-71, 99-86
 |
| Paul Lee helped the Painters bounce back by beating the Meralco Bolts. |
BGY. GINEBRA KINGS over PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS, 87-85
Cedric Bozeman wrote the perfect ending to Barangay Ginebra’s momentous night.
Bozeman drove to the baseline and hit a long floater with 0.3 seconds left to lift the Kings to a pulsating 87-85 win over Petron Blaze for their second straight win in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals Sunday night at the jam-packed SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
On the night that the league paid tribute to basketball icon Robert Jaworski, Ginebra displayed its old never-say-die spirit in turning back the Boosters to stay unbeaten in the semis and improve its standing to 7-4.
Bozeman actually had a rough night, scoring just 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, but made up for it with his game-winner to prevent Petron from ruining the night for the Ginebra franchise.
Caguioa was brilliant especially in the second half, when he poured in 17 of his team-high 25 points. But Petron denied him the ball in the last play, which came after Alex Cabagnot knotted the score at 85-all with a right-handed lay-up with 15.9 seconds remaining.
It was a sorry loss for Petron, which appeared poised to spoil the evening for die-hard Ginebra loyalists after controlling most of the game.
Caguioa, Rico Villanueva, Rico Maierhofer, Dylan Ababou and Bozeman led the Ginebra fourth quarter rally with gutsy plays on both ends of the court.
Ababou had a crucial three-point play after Maierhofer muffed two free throws that gave Ginebra an 85-83 lead.
Marcus Faison led Petron with 19 points. Chris Lutz chipped in 17 for the Boosters, whose win record fell to 6-5, including 1-1 in the semis.
GIN 87 - Caguioa 25, Bozeman 13, Ababou 13, Maierhofer 10, Villanueva 8, Raymundo 8, Helterbrand 4, Cortez 3, Hatfield 3, Maliksi 0, Wilson W. 0, Mamaril 0.
PET 85 - Faison 19, Lutz 17, Washington 11, Hontiveros 11, Santos 9, Yeo 6, Cabagnot 6, Pena 4, Miranda 2, Reyes 0, Ildefonso 0.
QS: 15-26, 34-42, 58-69, 87-85
 |
| Cedric Bozeman hit the marginal basket in the dying seconds for the big Ginebra win. |
 |
| The Big J (right) gets some congratulatory handshakes from the current PBA bigwigs. |
Images: All images are from InterAKTV. (Photo credit to Paolo Papa)
0 Comment