Nobody could
stop the Beast, and the Gin Kings received a new lease on life.
Those were
the two big stories of the twin quarterfinal clashes this past December 14,
2012.
Calvin “The
Beast” Abueva rebounded from his not-so-awesome first game in the Philippine
Cup Playoffs by leading the Aces in dismantling the Bolts. He thoroughly
outplayed his rookie counterpart from Meralco, Cliff Hodge, who finished with
11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. For his part, Abueva registered 18
markers, 12 boards, and 3 rejections. He got ample help from the troika of
Cyrus Baguio, JV Casio, and Gabby Espinas, all of whom combined for 48 points
as the Aces booked a semis clash against the mighty Talk N Text Tropang
Texters.
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| Mac Baracael helped the Aces set a semifinal duel with heavily-favored Talk N Text. |
In the main
game, the Gin Kings of coach Siot Tangquincen snatched victory form the jaws of
defeat thanks to the great games of Chris Ellis, Mark Caguioa, LA Tenorio, and
Rudy Hatfield. Ellis, another hotshot rookie, led the Kings’ scoring parade
with 18 points on top of 10 rebounds, while Caguioa piled up 17 markers along
with 7 boards and 4 dimes. Tenorio and Hatfield combined for 26 points as
Ginebra forced a rubber match against the Elasto-Painters to decide who will
face the San Mig Coffee Mixers in the next round.
Game Recaps:
ALASKA ACES over MERALCO
BOLTS, 88-70
There is no
taming The Beast.
After a
sub-par game to open the playoffs, star rookie Calvin Abueva bounced back with
18 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks to lead the Alaska Aces to an 88-70
victory over the Meralco Bolts to clinch a Philippine Cup semifinals seat
Friday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“Nag-focus
talaga ako para sa game na ‘to,” said Abueva, who scored just six points in
Game One of the best-of-three series.
The Aces
jumped the gun early on the Bolts, taking a 26-16 lead in the first quarter and
dominating most of the game. Abueva’s three-pointer with 2:57 left in the game
pushed the lead to 18 points, 86-68, and finish off Meralco.
Alaska coach
Luigi Trillo, who led the Aces to their first semifinals appearance in the
post-Tim Cone era, said his team took advantage of a tuckered-out Bolts squad.
“Meralco was
a tired team, they had three games in five days,” said Trillo, who is in his
second conference as Alaska coach. “We outhustled them.”
Trillo noted
that Abueva’s foul trouble in Game One of the series became a blessing in
disguise for the Aces.
“Calvin was
fresher after playing just 15 minutes in the first game,” said the coach.
Cyrus Baguio
and JVee Casio provided plenty of firepower for Alaska, scoring 18 and 17
points, respectively. Gabby Espinas added 13 points and seven rebounds for the
Aces, who outworked the Bolts off the boards, 54-34.
Mac Cardona
carried the fight for Meralco with 18 points, while Sol Mercado finished with
15 points and 10 assists.
ALA 88 – Abueva 18, Baguio 18, Casio
17, Espinas 13, Jazul 8, Baracael 6, Hontiveros 5, Thoss 3, Dela Cruz 0, Belasco
0.
MER 70 – Cardona 18, Mercado 15, Hodge
11, Hugnatan 9, Ross 6, Salvacion 6, Reyes 4, Buenafe 1, Bulawan 0, Sharma 0.
QS: 26-16, 44-34, 70-55, 88-70
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| Calvin Abueva punches the air as the Aces finally dispose of the Bolts. |
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| Sol Mercado and the rest of Meralco were sent packing by the relentless onslaught of Alaska. |
BGY. GINEBRA GIN KINGS over RAIN
OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS, 79-77
Barangay
Ginebra San Miguel were comeback kings once more, turning a halftime deficit
into a thrilling 79-77 victory over Rain or Shine Friday at the SMART-Araneta
Coliseum.
With the
win, the Gin Kings forced a do-or-die Game Three in their quarterfinals series
Sunday also at the Big Dome.
Ginebra was
trailing, 41-33, after the first two periods and the game looked like it would
be a reprise of the series’ opening match, which turned into a rout for Rain or
Shine.
Instead,
Ginebra outscored Rain or Shine, 24-14, in the third quarter, and held steady
in the endgame to tie the series.
“I wanna
thank God for this victory,” Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen. “This really is a
blessing.”
Ginebra was
still leading, 79-72, with just two minutes left, before Rain or Shine rattled
off five quick points courtesy of Jervy Cruz and Paul Lee.
The Elasto
Painters forced a stop in Ginebra’s final possession, but a three-point attempt
by Jeff Chan that could have given Rain or Shine the lead rattled in and out of
the rim.
Gabe Norwood
recovered the possession for the Elasto Painters, but Mark Caguioa shackled Lee
in the ensuing play to force the ball out, before Rudy Hatfield stole Norwood’s
final inbound pass to preserve the victory for the Gin Kings.
Chris Ellis
led Ginebra with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Mark Caguioa and LA Tenorio added
17 and 16, respectively, for the Gin Kings. Rudy Hatfield also played well for
Ginebra chipping in 10 points and nine rebounds.
Lee led Rain
or Shine with 19 points, while Chan added 12.
The winner
of the do-or-die match will face San Mig Coffee, which earlier defeated Petron
to book a semifinals seat.
GIN 79 – Ellis 18, Caguioa 17, Tenorio
16, Hatfield 10, Mamaril 9, Maierhofer 4, Helterbrand 3, Taha 2, Jensen 0,
Espiritu 0, Wilson 0, Raymundo 0.
ROS 77 – Lee 19, Chan 12, Arana 9, Cruz
8, Norwood 8, Tiu 7, Quinahan 5, Belga 3, Matias 2, Tang 2, Rodriguez 2.
QS: 22-20, 33-41, 57-55, 79-77
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| Chris Ellis led the way as the Gin Kings escaped the boot against ROS. |
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| Chris Tiu tries to ward off the challenge posed by Ginebra's Billy Mamaril. |
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)
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