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| Sol Mercado runs through the gut of the Air21 defense. |
A few days
after they got robbed right inside the Mall of Asia Arena, the Meralco Bolts
rebounded by finishing strong and beating the Air21 Express. Sol Mercado and
Mac Cardona combined for 42 points to lead the Bolts, now at 3 wins and 2
losses, while Reynel Hugnatan and Jay-R Reyes paired up for 17 points and 24
rebounds down low.
Meralco
employed great defense here, limiting all but one Express player to single
digits (John Wilson netted 16 points), while also forcing 19 Air21 turnovers.
Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio’s wards shot a blistering 41% from beyond the arc,
highlighted by a combined 10 treys from Mercado, Cardona, and Ronjay Buenafe.
In the
second game, the Boosters relied on steady execution in the second half to turn
back the tough-fighting Ginebra Kings. Alex Cabagnot came through this time
around, seemingly responding to the call-out made by teammate Arwind Santos
after their previous loss, scoring 25 points while dishing out 9 assists. For his
part, Santos recorded a monster double-double, scoring 22 markers, collaring 17
rebounds, and blocking 2 shots. Former Gilas standout Chris Lutz, who engaged
Ginebra ace Mark Caguioa in a word war throughout the match, also did well,
putting up 18 points. Former Green Archer Joseph Yeo, meanwhile, hit 4 triples
on his way to finishing with 16 markers.
Caguioa led
the Kings with 23 points, but he shot just 9-of-25 from the field. LA Tenorio
also had a good game, bouncing back from his subpar performance last Friday by
recording 15 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. It was all for naught, however,
as Ginebra fell for the third time in a row after winning its first two assignments.
Game Recaps:
MERALCO BOLTS over AIR21
EXPRESS, 85-72
Meralco
notched a win that somehow eased the pain on its horrific experience from its
previous trip at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Bolts
vented their ire on the Air 21 Express for an 85-72 win in the 2013 PBA
Philippine Cup, coming out winners this time at the state-of-the-art venue in
Pasay City.
“We defended
well today. We defended our things well and the numbers put up by Air 21 are
not so significant,” said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio, who was among Bolts
member victimized by thieves who ransacked their locker room last Wednesday,
during halftime of their 105-104 loss to GlobalPort.
“After that
harrowing experience, we were able to bounce back strong, came out with better
focus, competed and played good basketball.”
Gregorio
blamed himself on their one-point loss to Batang Pier but his players came out
with better focus and determination for 48 minutes to claim their third win in
five matches.
With Meralco
management deploying its own security personnel for the locker room, the Bolts
were able to concentrate on the battle on the court.
Solomon
Mercado finished with a game-high 24 points spiked by five three-pointers,
while Mark Cardona and Ronjay Buenafe contributed 18 and 13 points,
respectively, for the Bolts
Reynel
Hugnatan also came up huge for Meralco with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
John Wilson
was the lone Air 21 player in double figures with 16 points. The Express’
win-loss record dropped to 1-4.
Air 21 was
in the thick of things early in the fourth quarter, trailing 63-59, before
Hugnatan and Cardona joined forces for a decisive 16-3 burst to pull away from
a tight contest with 5:13 left in the game.
“We’re
lacking consistency right now. We can compete in certain level but we can’t
execute down the stretch,” said Express coach Franz Pumaren. “I guess the
players are still feeling each other.”
MER 85 – Mercado 24, Cardona 18,
Buenafe 13, Hugnatan 10, Reyes 7, Nabong 6, Artadi 5, Salvacion 2, Hodge 0,
Borboran 0
A21 72 – Wilson 16, Taha 9, Canaleta 9,
Sena 8, Isip 8, Omolon 7, Reyes 4, Baclao 3, Atkins 2, Escobal 2, Ritualo 2,
Arboleda 2
QS: 18-14, 43-33, 63-56, 85-72
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| Ren Ren Ritualo has been struggling in the 2012 PBA Philippine Cup. |
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| Ronjay Buenafe tries a reverse lay-up against the Express's Nonoy Baclao. |
PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS over
BGY. GINEBRA KINGS, 98-95
Arwind
Santos scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot added 25
points as Petron snapped its two-game Philippine Cup losing streak with a 98-95
victory over Ginebra Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The victory
came just two days after Santos called out his teammates for lacking heart. In
earlier comments to InterAKTV, he specifically mentioned Cabagnot’s play.
After the
game, Santos stood by his statements.
“Alam niya
naman kung bakit ako nagsalita ng ganoon. Alam niya naman ang pagkatao ko,”
said Santos.
“Sana yung
pagkakabitaw ko ng salitang yun, sana magtuloy-tuloy pa. Sana maintindihan nila
ako. Sabi ko kay Alex, ‘Prove it to me.’”
Petron was
up in the fourth quarter, 89-80, on a layup by Joseph Yeo, before Ginebra
rattled off an 11-2 run to come within two points. A putback by Willie Wilson a
couple of plays later tied the game at 95-all.
Petron
regained the lead on a layup by Joseph Yeo, before LA Tenorio threw the ball
away in the ensuing possession with less than 10 seconds to go. Ginebra sent
Cabagnot to the line, and the Boosters point guard split his free throws.
Mark Caguioa
had one last shot to tie the game for Ginebra, but his three-point attempt hit
the back of the iron, allowing Santos to collar the rebound to seal the win.
Cabagnot
added eight assists, while Chris Lutz had 18 points. Yeo chipped in 16 points,
including four three-pointers.
“I think
Petron plays better with an injured lineup,” said Boosters coach Olsen Racela,
who lost veteran Danny Ildefonso during the game due to a dislocated left
shoulder. The team is already without top pick June Mar Fajardo, who underwent
an operation for his swollen scrotum.
“It really
shows the character of the team. Everyone is helping out,” added Racela.
It was
Ginebra’s third consecutive loss after winning its first two Philippine Cup
assignments. Petron moved into a tie with the Gin Kings in the standings with
similar 2-3 win-loss records.
PET 98 – Cabagnot 25, Santos 22, Lutz
18, Yeo 16, Pena 6, Washington 4, Ildefonso 4, Lanete 2, Mallari 1, Sison 0,
Miranda 0
GIN 95 – Caguioa 23, Tenorio 15,
Raymundo 14, Ellis 8, Wilson 8, Maierhofer 7, Mamaril 7, Helterbrand 7, Maliksi
5, Jensen 1, Hatfield 0
QS: 20-25, 48-49, 74-68, 98-95
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| Alex Cabagnot shoots over Ginebra's LA Tenorio. |
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| Arwind Santos registered an awesome double-double for the Boosters. |
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| Mark Caguioa and the Kings fell for the third straight time. |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game
recaps were compressed and compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Rey
Joble.)
Images: All images are from InterAKTV.
(Photo credit to Paul Ryan Tan and Pranz Kaeno Billones)
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