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| Jervy Cruz had one of his best games ever as ROS beat Global Port. |
At one point
in their careers, Jervy Cruz and Larry Fonacier were two of the most feared amateurs
in local basketball.
Cruz played
for the UST Growling Tigers in the UAAP, leading the España quintet to its last
taste of championship glory in 2006.
Fonacier,
for his part, was a vital cog in the 2002 edition of the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
His key block at the end of Game 1 against Mac Cardona has been immortalized as
one of the most memorable images in the history of the UAAP Finals.
When both
guys went up to the pro ranks, they were highly touted, but neither has really
reached the top level that many of their peers have.
Cruz has
always been a blessed inside operator. His combination of footwork and positioning
is something many other pro bigs haven’t been able to master. Despite this, his
size has always hampered his potential. At a generous 6’4”, Cruz is hardly the
most imposing presence on the hardwood. When ranged against similarly-sized
frontliners, Cruz can easily hold his own, but when measured up against much
bigger foes, Cruz usually struggles.
It was good,
then, that against the bigger Jason Deutchman and Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Cruz
accounted well for himself. His double-double production helped the Painters
win over Global Port in spite of ace gunner Jeff Chan’s anemic shooting night.
Because of Cruz’z heroics, Coach Yeng Guiao’s squad is now at 3-1.
The only
team the Painters trail is Talk N Text, which relied heavily on the hot hand of
Fonacier to subdue the erstwhile unbeaten San Mig Coffee Mixers.
Fonacier led
all scorers in the Texters’ fourth straight victory, waxing hot from long range
as TNT remains the only undefeated team in the tournament. The Ateneo de Manila
alum, fresh from his first tour of duty with the senior NT about a month ago, connected
on four of his six trey attempts, while also grabbing 7 rebounds. Prior to this
game, Fonacier averaged just 11.7ppg while shooting just 41% from the field. He
was also making good on only 17% of his attempts from rainbow country. Needless
to say, he picked a good time to get hot, and, because of it, the Texters
remain flawless.
Game Recaps:
RAIN OR SHINE
ELASTO-PAINTERS over GLOBAL PORT BATANG PIER, 94-83
Jervy Cruz
scored a career-high 22 points along with 16 rebounds to help Rain or Shine
past GlobalPort, 94-83, in PBA Philippine Cup action Saturday at the Ynares
Center in Antipolo City.
The Elasto
Painters were holding a precarious 84-79 lead with three minutes left in the
game before rattling off a 6-0 run to put the game away.
Cruz led
seven players with at least eight points for Rain or Shine, which won its third
game in four outings. GlobalPort suffered its fourth loss in five games, which
relegated the Batang Pier to the bottom of the standings.
Rain or
Shine won despite getting just 13 points from Jeff Chan, who had averaged 26.7
points coming into the game.
“Si Jeff,
hindi maganda yung laro ngayon, kaya isa-isa kaming nag-step up,” said Cruz.
Willie
Miller, who scored 33 points in GlobalPort’s victory in its last outing, was limited
to just 10 points.
GlobalPort
rookies Jason Deutchman and AJ Mandani led the fight for the Batang Pier,
scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Rain or
Shine coach Yeng Guiao pointed to the victory as a boost as the Elasto Painters
head into one of the toughest stretches in their schedule. They face San Mig
Coffee on Wednesday in a rematch of the last season’s Governors’ Cup Finals
before taking on Talk ‘N Text next Saturday in Victorias City, Negros
Occidental.
“This is a
crucial eight-day stretch for us,” said Guiao. “How well we do in our next two
games might well define how we’re going to fare in this conference.”
ROS 94 – Cruz 22, Chan 13, Matias 11,
Quinahan 11, Norwood 9, Tang 8, arana 8, Rodriguez 6, Belga 4, Ibanes 2
GLO 83 – Deutchman 18, Mandani 17,
Guevarra 13, Miller 10, Al Hussaini 7, Vanlandingham 6, Manuel 5, Antonio 3,
Lingganay 2, Cruz 2, Yee 0, Adducul 0
QS: 27-24, 46-42, 70-63, 94-83
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| Gabe Norwood gets sandwiched by Jason Deutchman and Willie Miller. |
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| AJ Mandani goes strong to the hole. |
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| Ryan Arana drives past rookie Vic Manuel. |
TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS
over SAN MIG COFFEE MIXERS, 85-74
And then
there was one.
The Talk ‘N
Text Tropang Texters squandered an early 17-point lead before escaping the San
Mig Coffee Mixers, 85-74, Saturday at the Ynares Center to remain the only
undefeated team in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Larry
Fonacier sizzled for 26 points, including a key three-pointer that kicked off a
late 14-2 run that preserved the fourth straight victory for the Tropang
Texters.
San Mig
Coffee, which missed star forward Marc Pingris because of an ankle injury last
Sunday against Petron, suffered its first loss in three games.
Fonacier,
who also had seven rebounds, and led five Talk ‘N Text players in double
figures. Jayson Castro had 16 points, Ryan Reyes added 12, Kelly Williams
chipped in 11, and Ranidel De Ocampo posted 10.
Talk ‘N Text
began the game with a 26-9 run midway through the first quarter en route to a
52-41 halftime lead.
But the
Mixers fought back furiously after the break, and Mark Barroca’s fastbreak
layup gave San Mig Coffee a 65-64 lead to end the third quarter.
Another
Barroca layup gave the Mixers a 67-64 lead to open the fourth period, and the
two teams battled in a nip-and-tuck affair through most of the fourth quarter.
A
three-pointer by James Yap, who scored 18 points, gave San Mig Coffee its last
taste of the lead, 72-71, midway through the fourth quarter.
Two plays
later, Fonacier hit his key three-pointer that started Talk ‘N Text’s
game-ending run.
TNT 85 – Fonacier 26, Castro 16, Reyes
12, Williams 11, De Ocampo 10, Peek 6, Dillinger 2, Carey 2, Gamalinda 0, Alvarez
0, Ferriols 0, Alapag 0
SMC 74 – Yap 18, De Ocampo 12, Simon
11, Devance 10, Barroca 8, Reavis 5, Villanueva 4, Gonzales 4, Ramos 2
QS: 32-20, 52-41, 64-65, 85-74
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| James Yap scored 18, but his Mixers still fell short against TNT. |
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| Jared Dillinger challenges the D of Yancy De Ocampo. |
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| Ali Peek goes up against two Mixers for the rebound. |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game
recaps were compressed and compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Rey
Joble.)
Images: All images are from PBA.ph. (Photo
credit to Nuki Sabio)
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