If one looks
at the current PBA Commish’s Cup standings, he/she will be forgiven for feeling
a little surprised. The Alaska Aces and the Barako Bull Energy Cola are the
only unbeaten teams so far, with Global Port at solo third place. A bunch of
teams are locked at the 4th-7th spots with 1-1 slates,
while the Painters, Gin Kings, and Mixers bring up the rear with winless cards.
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| Calvin Abueva continues to play well as the Aces go 2-0 in the current conference. |
Needless to
say, it seems that, given these standings, the world is off-kilter. One big
part of this, of course, is the presence of the imports. Robert Dozier, Evan
Brock, and Justin Williams have been surprisingly good so far, while guys like
Herbert Hill and Matt Rogers have been a little underwhelming. By and large,
however, it is the shocking improvement of some locals and the unexpected
chemistry of new acquisitions that have really boosted the top three teams in
the league.
In particular,
guys like Jonas Villanueva, Sol Mercado, and Japeth Aguilar seem to have revitalized
themselves after moving out from their previous clubs. Villanueva has been
stellar for Barako, while Mercado is leading the league in assists (THIRTEEN
per game), and Aguilar is really proving himself worthy of the added playing
time.
It’s still a
long way to go, but it’s clear that, based on the early goings, one should
expect the unexpected in this year’s Commissioner’s Cup!
Game Recaps:
ALASKA ACES over MERALCO
BOLTS, 85-81
Alaska
import Robert Dozier outclassed his Meralco counterpart Eric Dawson as the Aces
carved out an 85-81 victory Wednesday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Dozier
posted 27 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks for the Aces, which grabbed a
share of the early Commissioner’s Cup lead with a perfect 2-0 record, tying
idle Barako Bull.
Dawson, who
scored 37 points in his debut against Talk ‘N Text last Saturday, was held to
just 15 points on woeful 5-of-16 shooting (31 percent) by the stifling Alaska
defense.
That left
the Meralco locals led by Vic Manuel, who topped the Bolts with 18 points, to
carry the fight for his team. Meralco stayed within striking distance in the
second half, coming within four points on a three-pointer by Ronjay Buenafe
with less than two minutes remaining.
The Bolts
lucked out after Alaska deadshot JVee Casio missed two free throws in the
ensuing play, but neither Buenafe nor Mac Cardona could bring Meralco closer in
the next possession.
Cyrus Baguio
gave Alaska more breathing room by splitting his free throws with 20 seconds
left, before Buenafe hit another three-pointer to move the Bolts closer, 83-81,
with 12.8 seconds left.
But Tony
Dela Cruz hit two free throws to put more distance between the Aces and the
Bolts, and Alaska foiled Manuel’s final attempt to seal the win.
Calvin
Abueva added 20 points and eight rebounds for Alaska, while Cyrus Baguio
chipped in 16.
ALA 85 – Dozier 27, Abueva 20, Baguio
16, Casio 8, Espinas 6, Thoss 6, Dela Cruz 2, Ramos 0, Jazul 0, Eman 0,
Hontiveros 0, Belasco 0.
MER 81 – Manuel 18, Dawson 15, Buenafe
14, Cardona 11, Ross 6, Hugnatan 5, Hodge 4, Artadi 4, Guevarra 2, Borboran 2,
Timberlake 0, Reyes 0.
QS: 26-21, 47-39, 63-62, 85-81
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| Robert Dozier has been playing solid for Alaska. |
PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS over
SAN MIG COFFEE MIXERS, 98-73
This time,
there would be no collapse for Petron.
The Blaze
Boosters used a furious second quarter run and remained in cruise control the
rest of the way for an easy 98-73 victory over the San Mig Coffee Mixers Friday
night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The win gave
Petron its first Commissioner’s Cup victory after dropping its opening
assignment against GlobalPort, which it lost after leading by as much as 18
points in the first half.
Seven
players scored at least seven points for Petron, which outscored San Mig
Coffee, 28-8, in the second quarter.
That allowed
the Boosters to take a 26-point lead at the half, 48-22. Petron never trailed
by less than 16 points the rest of the way.
“Playing
against San Mig Coffee, we know we have to put up a good defensive effort
against a good executing team. We had this mindset of depensa muna bago
opensa,” said Petron coach Olsen Racela.
Renaldo
Balkman led the charge for Petron with 28 points, 15 rebounds, five assists,
and two blocks, apart from a highlight reel dunk in the third quarter over San
Mig Coffee import Matt Rogers, who was making his PBA debut after missing the
Mixers’ first game due to food poisoning. Jay Washington and Alex Cabagnot
added 17 and 15 points, respectively.
“More than
the good numbers provided by Balkman, it was the intangibles, the energy and
hustle he provided,” added Racela.
Rogers
scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but struggled from the field
shooting just 7-of-19 (37 percent). James Yap carried the fight for San Mig
Coffee with 25 points, but was hampered by an injury late in the game.
The loss
dropped the Mixers, the tournament’s defending champion, to a 0-2 win-loss
record to start the conference.
PET 98 – Balkman 28, Washington 17,
Cabagnot 15, Lassiter 9, Fajardo 8, Miranda 8, Santos 7, Tubid 4, Faundo 2,
Lanete 0, Pena 0.
SMC 73 – Yap 25, Rogers 20, Simon 8,
Devance 7, Pingris 7, Najorda 3, Barroca 2, Mallari 1, Alvarez 0, Reavis 0, De
Ocampo 0
QS: 20-14, 48-22, 70-49, 98-73
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| Renaldo Balkman had a breakout game against the Mixers. |
TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS
over AIR21 EXPRESS, 86-83
Keith Benson
scored 30 points, including five in the final two minutes, to help Talk ‘N Text
survive a furious Air 21 fourth quarter onslaught, 86-83, and book its first
win in the Commissioner’s Cup Friday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Benson added
18 rebounds for the Tropang Texters, who had to weather an Express uprising
anchored on KG Canaleta’s 20-point fourth quarter explosion.
“It was
scary for us in the fourth quarter as KG hit some big treys, but luckily we
were able to make stops,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black.
Canaleta hit
six of his seven three-pointers in the final period as the Express battled back
from a 22-point deficit.
A slam dunk
by import Michael Dunigan pushed the Express to within one point, 82-81, before
Benson responded with a three-point play off a timeout to give the Tropang
Texters more breathing room.
“He played
much better than the first game, but how can he stay away from foul trouble is
a concern for us,” said Black about his import. “That’s something he needs to
work on.”
Mike Cortez
hit a layup for Air 21, which sent Jared Dillinger to the free throw line in
the next play. Dillinger split his free throws, giving the Express one final
chance at an equalizer.
But the
final three-point attempt by Bonbon Custodio hit the back rim, giving Talk ‘N
Text its first tournament victory after losing its opening assignment to
Meralco last Saturday.
Ranidel De
Ocampo scored all 19 of his points in the second and third quarters, when Talk
‘N Text built its formidable lead.
Dunigan and
Cortez added 19 and 11 points, respectively, for the Express, whose win-loss
record dropped to 1-1.
TNT 86 – Benson 30, De Ocampo 19,
Dillinger 14, Reyes 8, Al-Hussaini 5, Castro 5, Fonacier 5, Wiliams 0, Carey 0,
Alapag 0.
AIR 83 – Canaleta 23, Dunigan 19,
Cortez 11, Custodio 8, Baclao 5, Ritualo 5, Wilson 4, Menor 2, Reyes 2, Isip 2,
Arboleda 2, Omolon 0.
QS: 23-18, 52-33, 72-51, 86-83
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| Oooooh lala. Jessica Mendoza sizzles for all PBA fans. |
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| Keith Benson slams a nasty one thru the hoop. |
GLOBAL PORT BATANG PIER over
BGY. GINEBRA GIN KINGS, 89-80
Workhorse
import Justin Williams posted monster numbers while Sol Mercado registered his
third straight double-double performance in a GlobalPort uniform to help the
Batang Pier cruise past Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 89-80, in Friday
Commissioner’s Cup action at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Williams had
23 points, 23 rebounds, and eight blocks while Mercado finished with 12 points
and 13 assists for GlobalPort, which won for the second time in three games.
The Batang
Pier bounced back from a tough loss against Barako Bull in its last outing.
“Lessons
learned, we bounced back tonight after losing to Barako Bull last time. We
didn’t play smart enough in our last game,” said GlobalPort coach Junel Baculi,
who also got 22 points from Gary David as well as big contributions from the
Batang Pier supporting cast.
“I told my
role players that they are as important as the starters. AJ Mandani did a great
job playing as backup. He provided quality minutes while Sol was resting,”
added Baculi.
The fiery
coach was all praises for his hardworking import Williams, who got 27 rebounds
against Barako Bull but made some crucial errors down the stretch.
“I told him
he has to play smart. He’s learning. The more games he play, the more he will
get accustomed to the PBA game,” added Baculi.
Import
Herbert Hill paced Ginebra with 22 points and 19 rebounds while Mark Caguioa
added 20 points for the Gin Kings, which lost its second straight game to open
the tournament.
GLO 89 – Williams 23, David 22, Mercado
12, Aguilar 8, Salvador 8, Mandani 6, Miller 5, Deutchman 3, Yee 2, Crisano 0.
GIN 80 – Hill 22, Caguioa 20, Baracael
8, Tenorio 8, Hatfield 6, Helterbrand 5, Raymundo 5, Ellis 4, Mamaril 2, Jensen
0, Espiritu 0.
QS: 29-15, 46-38, 67-56, 89-80
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| Gary David dropped 22 as the Batang Pier won for the second time in three games. |
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 and Paul Ryan Tan)
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