Here’s some
unsolicited advice for former (and probably soon-to-return) PBA player Japeth
Aguilar – don’t come back.
Or, at
least, not to the PBA, where you’ll probably languish on the bench (any bench) again.
Here’s my
call – play in China, play in Australia, or play for Gilas.
Actually…
JUST PLAY FOR GILAS.
Yes, Chot
Reyes benched you for most of your stint with TNT, but I think the team is so
desperate for talent, size, and international experience right now that they’d play
you to your heart’s content.
And think
about the talent surrounding you, too. You’ll have familiar frontline partner Marcus
Douthit patrolling the lanes. You’ll probably have talented young bigs Greg
Slaughter and Ian Sangalang backing you up. You’ll have guys like Ray Parks and
Kiefer Ravena complementing your athleticism and running with you on the break.
It’ll be awesome, Japeth, and you’ll have a shot at helping the country get
into the FIBA effin’ World Cup.
So come home,
big fella. Come home, don the national colors, and prove you belong.
 |
| Japeth Aguilar should just come home and play for Smart-Gilas once again. |
Game Recaps:
MERALCO BOLTS over BARAKO
BULL ENERGY COLAS, 85-73
This time,
the Meralco Bolts made sure things were under control down the stretch.
The Bolts
turned to stifling defense in the fourth period to hold off Barako Bull, 85-73,
in the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“The first
guy who always panics when we lose a big lead is me,” Gregorio quipped after
the game. “If I show panic, my players will mirror my actions. But I was barely
breathing, just to keep the acting job going.”
Composure
proved to be a key factor for the Bolts, who saw a 19-point third quarter lead
cut to just six points before pulling off the victory.
Barako Bull
was down 64-45 in the third quarter before coming to within striking distance,
73-67, with 8:11 left in the game. But the Bolts tightened up the screws on the
defensive end, holding their rivals without a basket for five minutes, leading
into a 9-0 run triggered by Reynel Hugnatan.
“The lessons
were all worth it. It’s OK for us to have heartbreaking losses as long as we
learned our lessons,” said Gregorio.
“Tonight, we
showed how to react. We have to be composed and at this time, composure is what
we’re still trying to learn in our team.”
Meralco
improved its win-loss record to 7-6 with one game remaining in its schedule.
Barako Bull lost its fourth straight game with a 3-9 record.
“We have a
10-day rest, but we will be up against San Mig Coffee next,” said Gregorio.
MER 85 – Nabong 12, Mercado 11,
Hugnatan 11, Salvacion 11, Hodge 8, Buenafe 7, Ross 6, Reyes 6, Cardona 6,
Sharma 6, Borboran 1.
BAR 73 – Tubid 20, Alvarez 12, Seigle
11, Najorda 8, Kramer 7, Pennisi 6, Ballesteros 4, Anthony 3, Cruz 2, Co 0, Yap
0.
QS: 25-19, 42-30, 67-57, 85-73
 |
| Chris Ross tries to get away from the D against the Energy Colas. |
 |
| Cliff Hodge twists in mid-air for a twinner. |
 |
| Danny Seigle tries to squeeze through the tight Meralco defense. |
BGY. GINEBRA GIN KINGS over AIR
21 EXPRESS, 99-76
Barangay
Ginebra San Miguel came out with all guns blazing, putting together its finest
performance of the PBA Philippine Cup in a 99-76 demolition of Air 21 Friday
night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin
Kings trailed only once — 1-0 on a free throw by Express center Noy Baclao —
before totally dominating the ball game for their fifth straight win. Ginebra
retained fourth place in the standings with a 7-5 win-loss record, bringing it
just a game behind Rain or Shine.
The final
score does not indicate just how lopsided the game was.
The first
quarter ended with Ginebra up big, 28-9, and it only got worse for Air 21 after
that. The Gin Kings began the second quarter with a 10-1 run en route to a
55-29 halftime lead.
So dominant
was Ginebra that it did not lead by less than 20 points the rest of the way.
The Gin Kings advantage ballooned to as much as 34 points, 81-47, at the end of
the third quarter.
Chris Ellis
led the charge for Ginebra with 18 points, four rebounds, and a sensational
highlight dunk in the second half that seemed to break the Express’ spirits.
It was Air
21′s fourth straight loss, and ninth in 13 games. The Express hold a half-game
lead for the final playoff spot over Barako Bull, which lost earlier in the
evening.
GIN 99 – Ellis 18, Tenorio 15, Hatfield
11, Helterbrand 9, Mamaril 8, Caguioa 8, Raymundo 8, Wilson 7, Maierhofer 4,
Espiritu 3, Taha 2, Jensen 2, Maliksi 2, Labagala 2.
A21 76 – Arboleda 17, Omolon 12,
Canaleta 11, Ritualo 8, Wilson 7, Cortez 7, Isip 4, Sena 3, Baclao 3, Reyes 2,
Andaya 2, Atkins 0, Custodio 0.
QS: 28-9, 55-29, 81-47, 99-76
 |
| Chris Ellis flies! |
 |
| JayJay Helterbrand is all alone on the break. |
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| Old rivals LA Tenorio and Mike Cortez find themselves on opposite sides once again. |
ALASKA ACES over GLOBAL PORT
BATANG PIER, 101-95
The Alaska
Aces took care of business in Dipolog City Saturday, downing a tough GlobalPort
side, 101-95, for their second straight win in the Philippine Cup.
Calvin
Abueva led Alaska with 21 points and 12 rebounds in his second game back from
illness, which has coincided with the Aces’ return to their winning ways after
four straight defeats.
The result
took the Batang Pier officially out of contention after suffering their 11th
loss in 12 games, while giving the Aces a better chance at finishing in at
least sixth to avoid a twice-to-beat disadvantage in the quarterfinals.
But Alaska
had to survive a late scare from GlobalPort, which rode on the hot hand of Rey
Guevarra to cut a 12-point fourth quarter deficit down to just two points,
79-77. The Aces responded with seven straight points to gain more breathing
room.
The Batang
Pier still had plenty of fight in them, as Guevarra strung four straight points
to keep within striking distance, 86-81, with two minutes left. Steady free
throw shooting by JVee Casio and Tony Dela Cruz, however, put the game out of
reach late despite a spree of three-point shooting from Willie Miller.
Alaska’s
win-loss record improved to 7-6 to tie Meralco at fifth and sixth spots, one
game ahead of seventh-placed Petron.
Placing at
least sixth is crucial for any team, since the seventh- and eighth-place teams
have to beat twice the second- and first-place teams, respectively, to advance
to the semifinals. The third-place team faces the sixth-place team while the
fourth- and fifth-placer battle in best-of-three quarterfinals series.
ALA 101 – Abueva 21, Casio 18, Baguio
11, Dela Cruz 11, Baracael 11, Espinas 10, Jazul 7, Eman 4, Reyes 2, Hontiveros
2, Thoss 2, Belasco 2, Laure 0.
GLO 95 – Miller 22, Guevarra 17, Manuel
16, David 7, Salvador 6, Mandani 6, Deutchman 5, Yee 4, Vanlandingham 4,
Antonio 3, Lingganay 2, Vergara 2, Al-Hussaini 1, Crisano 0.
QS: 28-25, 46-40, 73-61, 101-95
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 & Paul Ryan Tan)
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