2013 PBA Governors’ Cup Roundup: September 11, 2013

Meralco and Talk N Text missed some important chances in last night’s action from the 2013 PBA Governors’ Cup. The Bolts left the door open for the resilient Batang Pier, while the Texters were just overwhelmed by the hot-shooting Boosters.

In the main game, Petron Blaze defeated Talk N Text, 122-88, thanks to the brilliant play of Alex Cabagnot. 20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal on top of 7/9FG shooting and 4/4 FT shooting is the stat-line of a superstar playmaker, and that’s exactly what Cabagnot was in this game. Though Jimmy Alapag was awesome with 11 assists, he could do little to stop the superefficient Cabaggie, who also had exactly ZERO turnovers.

Alex Cabagnot was at his best against the Texters.

Another hero was Chico Lanete, who doesn't always shoot well, but when he does, man he doesn't miss much. In this game, Lanete made all three attempts from beyond the arc, and both two-point attempts. He didn't do much else, but, hey, 13 points in 10 minutes? Not too shabby at all.

On the other end, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, and 3/14 FG shooting should NOT be the stat-line of any PBA import. That is, however, exactly what TNT’s Tony Mitchell put up last night, dooming his squad's chances for an important third win. Instead, the Tropang Texters get blown out of the water and are now in danger of missing the quaterfinal bus altogether.

Earlier in the first game, GlobalPort leaned on a strong second half to overcome Meralco, 91-79. After being down 16 at the half, GlobalPort made the neded shots and stops in the final two periods to pull the rug from under the Bolts, who missed their chance at solo second place. GlobalPort, meanwhile, moved up to 3-4 and now have a realistic shot at a twice-to-beat edge.

Meralco's shooting just went south in the second half, resulting in the Bolts making just 12.5% of their threes and 31.6% of their field goals overall. They wasted their +6 edge in rebounds and their forcing 7 more Batang Pier turnovers. Coach Ryan Gregorio will rue this loss should the Bolts miss the top four when the elims close.

Gary David added another tale in his long-running legacy. The Gilas sniper nailed three treys here to finish with 21 points while also grabbing 4 boards. He shot under 44% from the field and under 60% from the stripe, but, hey, a guy like David should never be judged based on percentages anyway.

Game Recaps:

GLOBALPORT over MERALCO, 91-79

This time, it was GlobalPort’s turn to come back for the victory.

The Batang Pier rallied from a 20-point second quarter deficit to fashion out a 91-79 victory over the Meralco Bolts on Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

“Uy, matagal-tagal na rin akong hindi nakapunta rito,” GlobalPort coach Junel Baculi said in jest during the winning coach’s interview as the Batang Pier snapped a three-game losing streak.

The come-from-behind win comes one game after GlobalPort squandered an 18-point third quarter lead to lose to Barako Bull last Sunday.

“Ginamit naming parang motivation yun, our loss last Sunday,” said Baculi. “We cannot blame anyone but ourselves.”

Meralco posted a 40-20 lead midway through the second quarter and was still up by 16, 44-28, at the half.

But GlobalPort turned things around in the third quarter, as Gary David exploded for 14 of his 21 points to cut the Batang Pier deficit to just three points, 63-60, heading into the final period.

“We changed strategy a little bit, from our offensive alignments,” said Baculi. “Luckily, it worked.”

Import Markeith Cummings took over with 15 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Cummings had 32 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists to outduel Meralco counterpart Mario West, who struggled with foul trouble to finish with just 22 points before fouling out.

“We tightened up of defense, especially on Mario West,” said Baculi. “We cannot prevent him (from scoring), but to limit his production is good enough.”

Sol Mercado added 15 points while Jay Washingto had 10 points and 14 rebounds for GlobalPort, which improved its win-loss record to 3-4.

The victory gave GlobalPort its highest win total in its maiden season, after finishing with one in the Philippine Cup and two in the Commissioner’s Cup.

“Hopefully, we can be a gatecrasher in the quarterfinals,” said Baculi.

The loss ended the three-game winning run of Meralco, whose record dropped to 4-3 to tie three other teams at second place.

GLO 91 – Cummings 32, David 21, Mercado 15, Washington 10, Taha 4, Miller 3, Mandani 2, Thiele 2, Salvador 2, Lingganay 0, Alonzo 0.

MER 79 – West 22, Hugnatan 19, Wilson 16, Hodge 9, Cardona 7, Reyes 4, Allado 2, Guevarra 0, Ross 0, Timberlake 0, Cortez 0, Salvacion 0.

QS: 13-23, 28-44, 60-63, 91-79

Jondan Salvador tries to drive against Cliff Hodge.

Mac Cardona tries to get free from Gary David.

Sol Mercado goes up strong against Mario West.

PETRON BLAZE over TALK N TEXT, 122-88

The Petron Blaze Boosters took no prisoners against the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, rolling to a 122-88 victory on Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

With their sixth straight victory, the Boosters continued to rule over the Governors’ Cup standings with a 6-1 record, guaranteeing themselves a spot in the top four and twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

“I think it was a big game for us, because I think we formally clinched twice-to-beat advantage,” said Petron coach Gee Abanilla, whose Boosters outscored the Tropang Texters, 28-7, in the second quarter to put the game away.

“I think that was big, that paved the way for this victory.”

Petron showed no mercy in the second half, leading by as much as 42 points a couple of times in the fourth quarter.

Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black seemed to wave the white flag early, taking out import Tony Mitchell with 10:08 left in the third quarter. Mitchell finished with just seven points in just 21 minutes of play.

Import Elijah Millsap scored 25 points, Alex Cabagnot added 20, and Marcio Lassiter chipped in 18 points for Petron, which didn’t score less than 28 points in any quarter. Arwind Santos and Chico Lanete finished with 14 and 13 points for the Boosters.

Talk ‘N Text lost its second straight game to see its record fall to 2-4 in a tie with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel for eighth and ninth places. That leaves the two teams in danger of failing to qualify for the playoffs.

PET 122 – Millsap 25, Cabagnot 20, Lassiter 18, Santos 14, Lanete 13, Fajardo 7, Kramer 6, Hubalde 6, Miranda 4, Ildefonso 4, Tubid 3, Lutz 2, Deutchman 0, Sison 0.

TNT 88 – Al-Hussaini 18, Anthony 11, Peek 10, Castro 8, Mitchell 7, Aban 6, De Ocampo 6, Carey 6, Alapag 6, Fonacier 5, Ferriols 4, Aquino 1, Gamalinda 0, Alvarez 0.

QS: 35-30, 63-37, 94-63, 122-88