2012 PBA Philippine Cup Roundup: October 27-28, 2012

Rnald Tubid and the rest of Barako Bull feel they were
robbed of a potential win.

To call the goaltend or not to call the goaltend. That was the question.

The refs didn’t call it.

They didn’t have to, at least that’s what I think. If the PBA does, in general, follow FIBA rules, as they claim, then Rafi Reavis’s tap of the basketball while it was still clearly within the imaginary cylinder was, indeed, fair.

No call had to be made. The FIBA rules state that the ball may be tapped or touched or grabbed right after it makes contact with the ring. For all intents and purposes, Reavis made a good play on a fair ball. (A YouTube clip proving this appears at the end of this post)

San Mig Coffee won.

In other games, the Alaska Aces and the Talk N Text Tropang Texters, the two hottest teams at the moment, won in contrasting fashion. Alaska leaned on yet another strong performance from rookie Calvin Abueva to dump the slumping GInebra Kings, while the Texters were led by Jimmy Alapag and Ranidel De Ocampo in ambushing the Rain or Shine Elasto-Painters in Victorias City. TNT remains unscathed at the top spot even as the Aces have won their fourth straight game.

Game Recaps:

TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS over RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS, 80-77

The Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters pulled out a thrilling 80-77 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Saturday in Victorias City, Negros Occidental to remain undefeated in the Philippine Cup.

Talk ‘N Text had to go through the eye of the needle to pull out its sixth win in as many games. Rain or Shine, which saw its three-game winning run end, suffered just its second loss against four wins.

Larry Fonacier posted 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, leading the Tropang Texters rally from a 13-point deficit early in the second half.

“We played a good defense on Jeff Chan,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black. The Rain or Shine sharpshooter was hounded to just four points after coming into the game averaging better than 23 per game.

“But we missed a lot of free throws. If we made our free throws, we could have won by a big margin,” added Black.

Rain or Shine looked poised to run away with the game after taking 53-40 advantage in the third quarter, before Talk ‘N Text steadily clawed back.

The Tropang Texters tied the game, 71-all, with six minutes left, before Jimmy Alapag, who led all scorers with 15 points, hit the go-ahead three-pointer a couple of plays later to give them a 74-73 advantage. Fonacier hit a runner to give the Tropang Texters more breathing space, 76-73, heading into the homestretch.

Talk ‘N Text was still leading, 78-74, before Jeff Chan and TY Tang combined for three quick points to tow Rain or Shine to within one point. After a defensive stop, Gabe Norwood couldn’t convert for the Elasto Painters, who sent Ranidel De Ocampo to the line for two free throws.

Down by three points, Rain or Shine tried to find Chan in the ensuing possession, but Tang could not find the open passing lane, instead back-rimming a three-pointer.

Talk ‘N Text left the door open for the Elasto Painters after two missed free throws by Fonacier. But a final attempt by JR Quinahan clanged harmlessly off the rim at the buzzer, preserving the victory for Talk ‘N Text.

TNT 80 – Alapag 15, De Ocampo 13, Fonacier 12, Peek 11, Reyes 7, Williams 7, Dillinger 6, Raymundo 5, Carey 2, Ferriols 2, Gamalinda 0

ROS 77 – Cruz 14, Rodriguez 13, Ibanes 9, Quinahan 9, Belga 8, Matias 7, Norwood 7, Tang 6, Chan 4, Arana 0

QS: 19-22, 42-38, 63-67, 80-77

SAN MIG COFFEE MIXERS over BARAKO BULL ENERGY COLAS, 92-91

Rafi Reavis made a heady play in the dying seconds to help San Mig Coffee preserve a 92-91 victory over Barako Bull in a thrilling finish in the 2013 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Reavis swatted the ball away from the cylinder on an attempt by Rico Villanueva with about two seconds remaining to secure the much-needed win for the Coffee Mixers.

“I don’t see any controversy there. That’s legal in our league,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.

“We’re using FIBA rule [on goaltending]. You can knock the ball on the rim. It’s not the NBA rule anymore. And it was really a smart play by Rafi. He keeps on doing that since they changed the rule four or five years ago.”

It was a sorry loss for the Energy Colas, who trailed by as much as 12 points in the third period before rallying back in the fourth quarter behind Ronald Tubid.

James Yap led all scorers with 21 points but missed a couple of shots in the closing minutes that allowed Barako Bull to get back in the contest.

Peter June Simon added 15 points, including the marginal basket, while rookie Aldrech Ramos had his best game with 10 for the Mixers, who snapped a two-game skid for a 3-2 win-loss mark.

Tubid had 17 points and was responsible for putting his team on top with back-to-back three-pointers and a feed to Villanueva to give Barako Bull 91-90 lead with 1:18 remaining.

Simon reclaimed the lead for San Mig Coffee after he followed up a Yap’s missed jumper, 92-91, with just 19.4 seconds left on the clock.

Then came the controversial finish as Villanueva’s attempt, which appeared to be trickling in, was denied by Reavis, who tapped the ball while on the rim as time expired.

Barako Bull players and officials vehemently protested the non-goal tending call.

“They should let the players decide. If you asked my opinion, it was counted,” said Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi, who will confer with the management about what steps to take. “Sayang. We were robbed of the win.”

Villanueva added 16 points for Barako Bull, whose record fell to 2-4.

SMC 92 – Yap 21, Simon 15, Ramos 10, Barroca 9, Gonzales 9, Pingris 9, De Ocampo 8, Devance 5, Reavis 5, Villanueva 1

BAR 91 – Tubid 17, Villanueva 16, Urbiztondo 14, Kramer 12, Pennisi 12, Najorda 9, Yap 5, Anthony 4, Cervantes 2, Alvarez 0, Ballesteros 0

QS: 17-24, 42-48, 66-61, 92-91

James Yap scattered 21 markers to lead the Mixers.

PJ Simon hit the go-ahead basket inside the final minute
to lift San Mig Coffee over the Energy Colas.

ALASKA ACES over BGY. GINEBRA KINGS, 87-69

Alaska delivered another ace of a game that led to one more Barangay Ginebra San Miguel checkmate.

The Aces stretched their winning streak to four matches after pulling off a masterful 87-69 victory against the skidding Gin Kings to grab a share of second spot in the 2013 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Rookie Calvin Abueva fell a rebound short of notching his third straight double-double performance, but it was enough to lift Alaska to its fourth straight win to join Rain or Shine at the No. 2 spot with a 4-2 win-loss mark.

For Ginebra, it was the team’s fourth loss in a row after a 2-0 start, leaving them sliding deeper in the team standings.

“I think we’re lucky because Ginebra is not on its best now and probably with chemistry issue right now,” said Aces coach Luigi Trillo, who drew 19 points and nine rebounds from Abueva.

“But I thought the bottom line [was] in the first quarter Ginebra had 22, 16 in the second, 14 in the third and 17 in the fourth. Ginebra is a team that runs and it’s their strength. I think our defense did it today.”

Jvee Casio chipped in 16 points for the Aces while Cyrus Baguio netted 14. RJ Jazul and Sonny Thoss contributed 12 apiece for Alaska, which led the game from start to finish.

Dylan Ababou had 14 points in his first game back with Ginebra this season, but others failed to contribute for the Kings who shot miserably from the field (22-of-61).

Ababou’s three-pointer put Ginebra within three points, 51-48, in the third quarter. But an 11-0 explosion by the Aces capped by Abueva’s jumper pushed their lead back to 62-48, with 2:02 remaining in the period.

The lead ballooned to as high as 20 points, 81-61, after Baguio and Casio banged in a three-pointer each in a run that put the game away, silencing the dominant pro-Ginebra crowd.

It was Alaska’s first four-game winning streak since the Aces swept Ginebra in the 2009-10 Philippine Cup semifinals under former coach Tim Cone. That was also the last time the Kings have lost four in a row.

“It’s nice to win four in a row. The last time we did this was coach Tim’s time,” said Trillo who was then one of the assistants of Cone.

ALA 87 – Abueva 19, Casio 16, Baguio 14, Jazul 12, Thoss 12,Hontiveros 5, Espinas 4, Baracael 2, Dela Cruz 2, Reyes 1, Eman 0

GIN 69 – Ababou 14, Caguioa 12, Tenorio 10, Maierhofer 7, Mamaril 6, Cortez 6, Raymundo 5, Ellis 4, Wilson 3, Jensen 2, Helterbrand 0

QS: 25-22, 46-38, 64-52, 87-69