The way
things are going, it’ll be pretty foolish to pick any team NOT named Talk N
Text to romp through the competition and lift the Philippine Cup trophy. The
Texters lost just two games in the elims, and they are one of only two teams
with 3 or more players in the Top 15 of the Player Efficiency ladder (the other
team is Alaska). And none of those players is even Jimmy Alapag.
Their opponents
in the quarterfinals are the Air 21 Express, who lumbered into the Final 8
after beating the Batang Pier last Wednesday and after the Energy Colas lost to
Rain or Shine two days later. Niño Cañaleta exploded for 40 points in the
Express’s win over Global Port, and coach Franz Pumaren will need him to be
just as sharp against the deep roster of coach Norman Black.
 |
| TNT continues to be solid as they enter the Playoffs as overwhelming favorites. |
In the next
bracket, the 4-5 match-up pits the Meralco Bolts against the Alaska Aces, with
both teams carrying identical 8-6 slates. They split their season series, with
the average winning margin standing at just 5 points. With arguably the two top
rookies (Meralco’s Cliff Hodge versus Alaska’s Calvin Abueva) going
head-to-head, this should be one of the most exciting series to watch. Both teams
are entering the Playoffs on winning streaks, but I think the Bolts should have
a bit of an edge after beating the Mixers. This should be fun, and it should go
the distance.
The other
best-of-three series will pit Rain or Shine against Ginebra. Ginebra has the
edge in depth, but RoS has more grit. One interesting thing here is the
chemistry between Mark Caguioa and LA Tenorio. Their combination hasn’t
performed as strongly as, in theory, it should, but that may change when the
stakes get higher. Right now, the Painters aren’t exactly doing well, too. They
lost to the Kings and the Mixers before romping over the lowly Colas. Like the
previous match-up, this, too, should go all the way to a third game. I’m
picking the Caguioa-Tenorio combo to finally kick into high gear and the Kings
to move on.
Whoever
moves on in that match-up will have a tough time in the semis, since they’re
bound to face either the Mixers or the Boosters. In their only match-up in the
elims, the Mixers practically dominated the Boosters until Petron made a rally
in the fourth period. June Mar Fajardo put up a huge double-double, but his
effort was pretty much negated by the great game of Yance De Ocampo. That will
be a key match-up here along with those of Arwind Santos against Marc Pingris
and the duo of Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter, who didn’t play in the first
meeting, versus San Mig’s James Yap and PJ Simon. I think the Mixers are going
to be a little too tough for Petron, even if I’m expecting Santos to have
another big game. The Mixers need only one game to advance.
Game Recaps:
RAIN OR SHINE
ELASTO-PAINTERS over BARAKO BULL ENERGY COLAS, 116-101
Rain or
Shine coach Yeng Guiao was caught in heavy Friday traffic, failing to make it
in time for the start of the Elasto Painters’ match against Barako Bull at the
SM Mall of Asia Arena.
But Guiao
had specific instructions for chief deputy Caloy Garcia — starting the game
with seldom-used Jonathan Uyloan before bringing in the returning Paul Lee at
the six minute mark in the first quarter — and the tactical moves worked to
perfection in an easy 116-101 victory.
Uyloan
played the game of his career, finishing with 18 points, three steals, and two
blocks, while Lee played as if he hadn’t missed Rain or Shine’s past 18 games
dating back to last season, contributing 16 points, six assists, and four
rebounds.
They led six
players who scored in double-figures as Rain or Shine finished the elimination
round with a 9-5 record.
“Unexpected
naming ma-le-late si Coach Yeng, but when he called up, we thought na baka
hindi na siya umabot,” said Caloy Garcia, who took over the reins of the squad.
“His first instruction when he called up is to field in Paul Lee after six
minutes, then have Jonathan starting for us.
“The nice
thing about this win was everybody stepped up.”
Jervy Cruz
also scored a career-high 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting from the field.
Jeff Chan
and JR Quinahan each had 11 points while Beau Belga chipped in 10 for the
Elasto Painters.
The loss
eliminated Barako Bull (4-10) from playoff contention, giving the Air 21
Express (5-9) the last ticket to the quarterfinals.
ROS 116 – Cruz 23, Uyloan 18, Lee 16,
Chan 11,Quinahan 11, Belga 10, Tiu 8, Norwood 8, Rodriguez 4, Arana 4, Jaime 3,
Matias 0, Tang 0.
BAR 101 – Seigle 21, Tubid 17, Yap 16,
Kramer 15, cruz 13, Anthony 11, marcelo 8, Najorda 0, Pennisi 0.
QS: 32-19; 54-47; 86-66; 116-101
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| Chris Tiu and the Painters are set for a quarterfinals clash with the Gin Kings. |
SAN MIG COFFEE MIXERS over GLOBAL
PORT BATANG PIER, 107-96
Needing to
win one win to secure the twice-to-beat prize for the Philippine Cup quarterfinals,
San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone knew his team would to struggle for it.
The Coffee
Mixers did it the hard way, hacking out a 107-96 win against a GlobalPort squad
that fought hard despite playing merely for pride Friday night at the SM Mall of
Asia Arena.
Peter June
Simon came up big, picking up the slack for the hurting James Yap with 27
points to lead the way for the Mixers, who formalized their hold of the No. 2
spot in the quarterfinal round.
“I know it
wasn’t pretty, but it’s a lot harder than what people see from the outside,”
said Cone.
“There’s the
other team which has gotten loose and another team looked stressed. Looking at
each other, you know there’s going to be a real battle. Certainly, there’s no
easy games in the PBA.”
San Mig
Coffee did not get its rhythm going until the early part of the fourth quarter,
when the Mixers outscored the Batang Pier, 34-18, to secure their 10th win in
13 games.
“We just
took care of business tonight. I told my players that all we have to do is walk
out there and win. Let’s not misunderstand our expectations. We don’t have to
win by 25 points, but we only need to win by one and win,” said Cone.
The Mixers
still have one game left on their elimination round schedule against the
Meralco Bolts, but are locked into a playoff duel against the underachieving
but dangerous Petron Blaze Boosters.
“Anybody
could pick a harder opponent, but Petron. There’s a saying that you don’t
choose who to play in the playoffs because you need to go through everyone of
them,” said Cone.
GlobalPort
ended its campaign with just a lone win to show in 14 games.
SMC 107 – Simon 27, De Ocampo 18,
Pingris 14, Barroca 12, Ramos 8, Yap 8, Reavis 7, Devance 5, Intal 4,
Villanueva 4, Gonzales 0.
GLO 96 – David 22, Al-Hussaini 20,
Deutchman 13, Miller 13, Mandani 10, Salvador 6, Guevarra 4, Raymundo 2, Manuel
2, Lingganay 2, Yee 2, Vanlandingham 0.
QS: 20-27; 47-49; 73-78; 107-96
 |
| PJ Simon shone brightly in the absence of James Yap. |
MERALCO BOLTS over SAN MIG
COFFEE MIXERS, 87-77
The Meralco
Bolts took care of business Sunday, defeating the San Mig Coffee Mixer 87-77 at
the SM Mall of Asia Coliseum to set up a quarterfinals showdown against the
Alaska Aces.
With the
Mixers already safely ensconced in the quarterfinals — San Mig Coffee coach Tim
Cone opted to rest hurting superstar James Yap — it was the Bolts who dominated
the game for their eighth win in 14 contests.
Veteran
forward Reynel Hugnatan led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds for
Meralco, which finished with the eliminations with the same record as the Aces.
The two teams will start their best-of-three playoff encounter on Wednesday.
“We really
put our spirit to a test. We wanted to come up with our best finish for our
young franchise and break some barriers. True enough, we finished No. 4,” said
Gregorio.
“But unlike
San Mig Coffee, which has the luxury of resting its key players, including
James Yap, we had to find ways to win.”
The smaller
Bolts had to outwork the bigger Mixers. Meralco outrebounded San Mig Coffee,
57-43.
“We’re a
small team, so we have the mindset of rebounding by committee and that’s
exactly what we did tonight. In fact, we had six offensive rebounds to end the
game,” said Gregorio.
It was
Hugnatan who hurt the Mixers’ more with his hustle plays and timely baskets. He
had eight points in the fourth period, including an inside stab off a pass from
Mercado that gave the Bolts an 83-71 lead, 4:11 left.
Meralco’s
victory means Rain or Shine will face Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the
quarterfinals in another best-of-three series.
Both of those
pairings will kick off Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
San Mig
Coffee, meanwhile, will have twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals
against Petron in the series that begins Thursday, also at the Big Dome.
MER 87 – Cardona 15, Hugnatan 15,
Mercado 12, Borboran 9, Buenafe 9, Reyes 8, Sharma 7, Hodge 5, Salvacion 3,
Nabong 2, Ross 2, Bulawan 0.
SMC 77 – Simon 19, Ramos 15, Barroca 8,
Pingris 8, De Ocampo 8, Gaco 5, Devance 4, Intal 3, Ponferada 2, Villanueva 2,
Gonzales 2, Reavis 1, Pacana 0.
QS: 19-15, 45-39, 68-61, 87-77
 |
| Mac Cardona points upwards as the Bolts prepare for war versus the Aces. |
TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS over
BGY. GINEBRA GIN KINGS, 87-80
The Talk ‘N
Text Tropang Texters rallied to beat Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 87-80, Sunday
night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena to ride into the Philippine Cup
quarterfinals with a victory under their belt.
Ali Peek had
16 points, 18 rebounds, and three blocks to lead Talk ‘N Text, which came back
from a 17-point third quarter deficit to book the victory.
The game
held little meaning for either team, as both were locked into their respective
quarterfinal matchups. But the two squads didn’t play like it was a no-bearing
game, with the action getting heated at several junctures.
“There’s no
such thing as a non-bearing game. The objective is to always give the paying
customers their money’s worth. I’ve been long enough in the league and I know
our priority is the customers and win basketball games for them. We all owe it
to the fans,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black.
“The win was
more about pride. We’re the No. 1 team no matter what, but we may see this team
down the road.”
The Tropang
Texters worked double time on defense in the fourth period, when they held
their rivals to just two field goals.
Barangay
Ginebra’s seven-point output in the final period is the team’s lowest scored
this conference. The Gin Kings’ last field goal came at the three-minute mark
of the fourth quarter courtesy of Rico Maierhofer.
Talk ‘N Text
finished with just two defeats in 14 elimination round games, while Ginebra’s
win-loss record fell to 7-7 to wrap up its campaign.
The Tropang
Texters will play Air 21 in the quarterfinals, with the Tropang Texter enjoying
twice-to-beat advantage. The series starts on Thursday.
“You can’t
take any team for granted. I believe they’re better than their record,” said
Peek.
Ginebra will
take on Rain or Shine in a best-of-three series that kicks off Wednesday. It
marks the second straight year the two teams face each other in the Philippine
Cup quarterfinals. The Elasto Painters swept the Gin Kings in two games last
season in the final eight of the same tournament.
TNT 87 - Castro 24, Peek 16, Williams
13, Fonacier 11, Reyes 8, Alapag 6, De Ocampo 4, Aban 3, Dillinger 2, Ferriols
0, Carey 0.
GIN 80 - Caguioa 20, Tenorio 19,
Raymundo 10, Maierhofer 4, Mamaril 4, Hatfield 4, Ellis 3, Labagala 3,
Helterbrand 3, Taha 2, Jensen 2, Maliksi 2, Espiritu 2, Wilson 2.
QS: 23-22, 38-49, 68-73, 87-80
 |
| Jayson Castro evades the Ginebra defense as the Texters finish the elims strong. |
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 & PRanz Kaeno Billones)
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