Mike
Singletary decimated the Air21 defense even as Marc Pingris and James Yap
teamed up to defeat TNT in 2013 PBA Governors’ Cup action last night.
In the
opener, Barako Bull beat Air21, 103-94, thanks to the awesome exploits of Mike
Singletary, who almost single-handedly carried the Energy to the big win. The
former Texas Tech alum dropped 41 big ones on the Express, while also grabbing
12 rebounds on top of 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Needless to say, he
was everywhere in this game, and if Barako Bull is to continue winning, then he
will have to continue dominating.
Michael Singletary soars past Mike Cortez in this bit of action from Barako Bull's win. |
I did say
Singletary "almost singlehandedly" carry Barako, right? That's mainly
because he got a hefty amount of help from wicked wingmen Ronjay Buenafe and
Danny Seigle. That pair shot 13/24 from the floor, grabbed 7 boards, and had 6
dimes. They provided a huge lift for Rajko Toroman's crew, and outplayed their
counterparts from Air21 -- Ogie Menor and KG Canaleta.
Speaking of Menor,
why is he even starting for Air21? He has never really been able to translate
his great scoring from the collegiate scene onto the pro circuit, and he
doesn't really do much else outside of irking at least one person from the
opposing team. In this game, the former Red Lion piled up 5 markers, 2
rebounds, and 2 assists in 21 minutes. Again, why?
In the
nightcap, San Mig Coffee surprisingly routed Talk N Text, 118-99, with the
Mixers’ old reliables playing like old reliables. Gilas Pilipinas stalwart Marc
Pingris did really well with 23 points and 8 rebounds, while "Big
Game" James Yap broke out of a slump by dropping 21 markers on the
strength of three triples. The sublime inside-outside game displayed by the
Mixers was virtually unstoppable from the get-go in this, their first win of
the conference.
Four guys actually
finished with double-digit scoring for San Mig Coffee: the aforementioned
Pingris and Yap, plus Marqus Blakely, who scored 24, and new acquisition Allein
Maliksi, who tossed in 10 points in just 17 minutes. Maliksi is a budding star
in the league, having a wide array of offensive skills to match with great size
at the wings. While Blakely serves as the main swingman in this conference,
Maliksi should be the Mixers' starting SF when the Philippine Cup opens later
this year.
On the other
end, big men Sean Anthony and Rabeh Al-Hussaini delivered for coach Norman
Black, but it was the TNT backcourt that struggled to contribute. In sharp
contrast to their previous outing, Ryan Reyes and Jai Reyes combined for just
13 points here as the Texters surely missed the services of mainstays Jayson
Castro, Larry Fonacier, Jimmy Alapag, and Ranidel De Ocampo (RDO, however,
isn't really a guard).
Game Recaps:
BARAKO BULL over AIR21,
103-94
Import Mike
Singletary scored 41 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Barako Bull to a
103-94 victory over the Air 21 Express on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Ronjay
Buenafe and Danny Seigle added 18 points apiece from Barako Bull, which had to
fend off a furious second-half rally from Air 21 to book its second straight
win after an opening loss in the Governors’ Cup.
“It’s a big
win for us,” said Barako Bull consultant Rajko Toroman. “Now we are in a good
position to fight for the quarterfinals.”
The Energy
Colas led by 18 points at halftime, but the Express came charging back behind
prolific reinforcement Zach Graham, who scored 15 of his 34 points in the final
period.
Air 21 cut
its deficit to just three points, 96-94, with three minutes left. But Emman
Monfort, who finished with 12 points, hit a three-pointer that touched off a
7-1 run to end the game for Barako Bull.
“We played
really good basketball in the first half,” said Toroman. “Second half, I
thought that we lost our rhythm.”
BAR 103 - Singletary 41, Buenafe 18,
Seigle 18, Monfort 12, Cruz 8, Intal 4, Jensen 2, Marcelo 0, Bulawan 0,
Weinstein 0, Macapagal 0, Pennisi 0, Pena 0
A21 94 - Graham 34, Canaleta 12, Sharma
12, Cortez 10, Isip 9, Custodio 6, Menor 5, Manuel 4, Omolon 2, Sena 0, Ritualo
0, Arboleda 0
QS: 29-23, 65-47, 83-71, 103-94
Keith Jensen tries to thwart the inside foray of Air21's Zachary Graham. |
Graham tests the low block defense of Barako Bull's JC Intal. |
SAN MIG COFFEE over TALK N
TEXT, 118-99
Import
Marqus Blakely was his usual dominant self, but this time he got plenty of help
from San Mig Coffee headliners Marc Pingris and James Yap as the Mixers cruised
to a 118-99 win over Talk ‘N Text on Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Blakely had
24 points, 17 rebounds, and eight assists, Pingris announced his return with 23
points and eight rebounds, while Yap broke out of a slump for 21 points on
3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in the Mixers’ first win after two losses
to open the Governors’ Cup.
“We caught
Talk ‘N Text at a really good time,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone as the
Tropang Texters continued to miss Gilas Pilipinas stars Jimmy Alapag, Jayson
Castro, Larry Fonacier, and Ranidel De Ocampo.
Cone praised
his team’s energy to begin the game.
“Coming off
two losses, we couldn’t take anything for granted,” said Cone, whose team
opened the game on fire with a 39-21 first quarter lead.
The Tropang
Texters were within 14 points at halftime, but two three-pointers from Yap
sparked an 8-2 run that gave San Mig Coffee a 68-48 spread.
The Mixers
nursed that lead until a late charge by the Tropang Texters behind import Tony
Mitchell, who led all scorers with 38 points. A Mitchell three-pointer put Talk
‘N Text within 11 points with three minutes left in the game, but Yap answered
with a long distance shot of his own to keep the Tropang Texters at bay.
Cone said a
longer break, after the team’s scheduled game last Wednesday was postponed
because of bad weather, helped the Mixers.
“We felt we
were much more ready tonight,” said Cone.
“The storm
is over, and we hope the storm is over for us as well.”
SMC 118 - Blakely 24, Pingris 23, Yap
21, Maliksi 10, Mallari 9, Devance 9, Barroca 7, Simon 7, Reavis 6, Gaco 2,
Alvarez 0, Acuna 0, Najorda 0
TNT 99 - Mitchell 38, Anthony 21,
Al-Hussaini 10, Reyes 8, Peek 8, Aquino 5, Reyes 5, Aban 2, Carey 2, Raymundo
0, Ferriols 0
QS: 39-21, 60-46, 89-71, 118-99
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game
recaps were compressed and compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Rey
Joble)
Images: Images are from InterAKTV. (Photo credit
to Pranz Kaeno Billones)
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