Calvin
Abueva got the better of Cliff Hodge in a match-up between the league’s top two
rookies last night.
Abueva
logged 20 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block for a whopping
51.00 EFF (as calculated by PBA-Online.net). Hodge, meanwhile, bounced back
from his poor play against Global Port a few days ago by registering 13 points,
9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. That line was good enough for an
impressive 36.41 EFF.
Abueva was
clearly the better rookie here, and CLEARLY the best player out there on the
floor bar none. This was his best PBA game yet, and something tells me the kid
form Baste has more in store for the loyal fans of Alaska. Heck, if he keeps
this up, it might not be far-fetched to include him in the MVP consideration,
too! Rookie-MVP? It’s VERY possible.
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| Calvin Abueva (M) won his match-up against fellow rookie Cliff Hodge last night. |
Game Recaps:
ALASKA ACES over MERALCO
BOLTS, 88-85
Calvin
Abueva is back and Alaska, similarly, is back on the winning track.
The
hardworking rookie Abueva brought his usual energy and the rest of the Aces
grinded out an 88-85 win over the Meralco Bolts in the PBA Philippine Cup on
Wednesday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Abueva led
his team both in scoring and rebounding in his first game back since being
hospitalized due to nasal infection. He finished with 20 points, 18 rebounds
and two steals in 36 minutes of play.
The barely
6-foot-2, do-it-all forward, was all over the floor – hustling, chasing down
loose balls and helping out on defense as well as scoring and grabbing
rebounds.
“Calvin is a
warrior all his life. You see what he brings to the table. He’s all over the
place,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo. “He’s not a dirty player, he rebounds,
brings energy to the team and that rubbed off on the rest of the team.”
Although
Abueva proved to be steady all game long, the Aces needed two crucial
three-pointers from JVee Casio and Mac Baracael inside the final two minutes to
outlast the Bolts.
Casio, whose
three-pointer hit the backboard before going in, tied the count for the last
time at 82-all.
In the
return play, the Bolts failed to execute, and the Aces punished them by finding
Baracael, who was wide open from the left flank. The 6-foot-3 sophomore forward
sank the trey for an 85-82 count, with still more than a minute left.
Another
unproductive thrust by the Bolts led to a fastbreak by Alaska and Cyrus Baguio
kept things well in hand for the Aces by finishing on transition for an 87-82
lead.
Reynel
Hugnatan completed a three-point play for the Bolts in the next play to give
his team one last push.
With only
9.5 seconds left, Meralco opted to foul Casio, who split his charities and left
a window of opportunity for the Bolts. Unfortunately, the Bolts’ Ronjay Buenafe
missed a trey.
Cliff Hodge
chased the ball and attempted from deep left while drawing a contact from
Abueva. The referees, however, waived the foul called on Abueva after reviewing
that there was no more time left on the clock.
ALA 88 – Abueva 20, Baguio 19, Baracael
12, Thoss 12, Casio 9, Espinas 7, Jazul 6, Dela Cruz 2, Eman 1, Reyes 0,
Hontiveros 0.
MER 85 – Ross 14, Cardona 14, Hodge 13,
Hugnatan 11, Mercado 10, Borboran 9, Nabong 6, Reyes 5, Buenafe 3, Salvacion 0.
QS: 24-21, 43-34, 64-66, 88-85.
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| JV Casio lobs one over Meralco's Reynel Hugnatan. |
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| Cliff Hodge and the Bolts went down against the gritty Aces. |
TLAK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS
over PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS, 95-82
Nearing the
end of the elimination round, two-time reigning Philippine Cup champion Talk ‘N
Text is right where they hoped to be – on top of the standings.
The Tropang
Texters played tough defense down the stretch against the Petron Blaze
Boosters, holding their rivals to a single field goal in the last five minutes,
en route to a 95-82 triumph at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum to secure one of the
top two spots and the twice-to-beat bonus in the eight-team PBA Philippine Cup
quarterfinals.
“We’ve
achieved our target, which is securing the top spot and a twice-to-beat advantage.
We played with a total team effort and played with balanced offense,” said Talk
‘N Text coach Norman Black.
The game was
tied, 66-all, at the end of three quarters and was close up until the last six
minutes, where Petron trailed by just a single point, 81-80, after free throws
from Alex Cabagnot.
But the
Tropang Texters were able to outscore the Boosters, 12-2, in the last five
minutes as Talk ‘N Text closed out strong to stay on top of the standings with
an 11-2 card.
“We’re
trying to find our identity. I told them that if we can focus on defense, we
have a chance of winning basketball games,” said Black. “We made some
adjustments in the second half, particularly on the defensive end. Everybody
buckled down on defense.”
No player
was able to score for Petron Blaze after Arwind Santos made a bucket at the
3:19 mark of the fourth period.
Talk ‘N
Text’s victory snapped Petron’s three-game winning streak. The Boosters fell to
a 6-7 card and dropped to seventh place.
TNT 95 – Castro 23, Williams 14, Reyes
12, Alapag 11, De Ocampo 10, Peek 9, Dillinger 8, Fonacier 6, Carey 2, Aban 0,
Alvarez 0.
PET 82 – Santos 22, Cabagnot 17,
Lassiter 12, Fajardo 7, Lutz 7, Yeo 5, Washington 5, Faundo 4, Miranda 3,
Duncil 0.
QS: 15-18, 38-44, 66-66, 95-82.
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| Arwind Santos and the Boosters dropped the ball against the mighty Tropang Texters. |
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| Jayson Castro led the way anew for TNT's 11th win. |
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| Ryan Reyes soars over Petron's Jojo Duncil. |
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 Paolo Papa)
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