2013 PBA Governors’ Cup Roundup: September 15, 2013

Meralco leaned on former Green Archer Mike Cortez to upend his former coach and some of his ex-teammates, while the Petron Blaze Boosters continued their impressive play in downing the GlobalPort Batang pier this past Sunday in the 2013 PBA Governors’ Cup.

In the first game, Meralco beat Air21, 100-91, thanks to the superb showing of Mike Cortez. So good was Cortez that, boy, if he played like this every game, he would surely be in consideration for a spot in Gilas Pilipinas. The former DLSU Green Archer shot 6/10 from the field and a flawless 5/5 from the line to finish with 17 points on top of 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, and, most important of all, 6 assists. The Cool Cat was efficient as hell in this one, weaving through the Air21 defense like hot knife through butter and finding his teammates for easy scores. The key? He was really aggressive.

Another Meralco player, Cliff Hodge, was on a tear here, scoring 24 points on 10/21 FG shooting, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking 1 shot. The kid has probably been forgotten in terms of the Rookie-of-the-Year race (for a lot of people it's just Calvin Abueva versus himself, you know), but, man, he keeps on reminding people about how good he can be. I mean, he's not just a rebounding machine, he can shoot from deep a well! Could be a more athletic Rudy Hatfield when he peaks.

Is Cliff Hodge doing to remain in the race for ROY?

On the other end of the floor, Joseph Yeo became the newest ex-La Sallian in coach Franz Pumaren's roost. And how did Pumaren’s green-hued alumni do here? Yeo had 9 points and 4 rebounds. Renren Ritualo nailed 2 treys. Carlo Sharma had 4 markers and 5 boards. Simon Atkins was good for 2 points and 2 dimes. Yeah, this will entail some getting used to.

In the main game, Petron Blaze overcame GlobalPort, 101-90, as the frontcourt tandem of Arwind Santos and June Mar Fajardo dominated the paint. 28 points, 20 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks on top of 12/19 FG shooting. That's how good the frontline of Santos and Fajardo was in this game. The Spiderman and the Kracken thoroughly outplayed any other big guy the Batang Pier threw at them, be it Jay Washington, Kelly Nabong, Yousef Taha, or Jondan Salvador. This is solid as solid can be.

One huge reason the Boosters have been the best this conference is the marvelous play of former Gilas wingman Marcio Lassiter. Lassiter has been having one of his most productive conferences so far, and this game underscored just how awesome he has been. He shot 7/11 from the field, including FOUR triples, on his way to 18 points. He also helped out in putting the cuffs on Sol Mercado and Gary David. And I don't even think we've seen the best from him yet.

As for GlobalPort, well, remember that this is a team built around its shooters. I mean, the Batang Pier have J-Wash, Gary David, Willie Miller, and Sol Mercado. They're all at least pretty decent from beyond the arc, but in this encounter they were all butt-terrible. As a foursome (hehe foursome), they combined for just 2/13 three-point shooting. As a team, GlobalPort connected on just 19% of its three-point attempts. Never is that good enough to beat a team like Petron.

Game Recaps:

MERALCO over AIR21, 100-91

The Meralco Bolts turned back the Air 21 Express for a crucial 100-91 victory in the Governors’ Cup on Sunday at Cuneta Astrodome.

The victory, Meralco’s third in the last four matches, improved the Bolts’ win-loss record to 5-3. That ties for second place them in the team standings with idle San Mig Coffee.

The Bolts set up a showdown for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs on Friday against the Mixers at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Mario West had 29 points, while Cliff Hodge chipped in 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Bolts. Former Air 21 point guard Mike Cortez, in just his second game in a Meralco uniform, finished with 17 points and six assists against his old team.

Meralco was in a dogfight with Air 21 until the third period, leading by just a single point, 53-52, early in the second half. Hodge, Cortez, and import Mario West conspired to open up a double-digit lead for the Bolts, who took a 77-66 advantage heading into the fourth period.

The Bolts kept the Express at bay until late in the game, when Air 21 cut the lead down to just six points. The Express had a chance to cut the lead down further, but Zach Graham turned the ball over with 24.1 seconds left to seal their defeat.

Air 21′s record dropped to 2-6, putting the Express on the verge of elimination.

MER 100 – West 29, Hodge 24, Cortez 17, Cardona 7, Wilson 6, Salvacion 5, Reyes 4, Hugnatan 4, Ross 2, Timberlake 2, Guevarra 0, Allado 0.

A21 91 – Graham 22, Canaleta 15, Taulava 14, Custodio 10, Manuel 9, Yeo 9, Ritualo 6, Sharma 4, Atkins 2, Salamat 0, Menor 0, Burtscher 0.

QS: 24-17, 45-41, 77-66, 100-91

Mike Cortez was very efficient against the Express.

Asi Taulava might just end his career with Air21.

PETRON BLAZE over GLOBALPORT, 101-90

Neither flu nor bad weather was enough to slow down Elijah Millsap from powering the Petron Blaze Boosters to their eighth straight victory.

Millsap’s triple-double performance of 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists boosted Petron to a 101-90 victory in the PBA Governors’ Cup at Cuneta Astrodome.

After a slow first half where he scored just four points, Millsap flexed his muscle in the third period, inspiring Petron to pull away from the game.

The Boosters held GlobalPort to just 11 poins in the third quarter to build a 78-61 advantage.

Despite being assured of the No. 1 seed in the playoffs prior to the start of the game, Petron was still business as usual in its final assignment in the elimination round.

“Para sa amin, no matter what the situation is, we have to play the same way,” said Petron Blaze coach Gee Abanilla. “Whether we’re up or down, things are good right or not, we have to play a certain identity. That would be good for the character of the team.”

Marcio Lassiter played another solid game, contributing 18 points on 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

Arwind Santos had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Petron, which enters the playoffs with an 8-1 win-loss record. June Mar Fajardo and Alex Cabagnot scored 13 and 12 points, apiece.

Markeith Cummings scored 26 points for GlobalPort, whose record fell to 3-5.

PET 101 – Millsap 18, Lassiter 18, Santos 15, Fajardo 13, Cabagnot 12, Kramer 8, Lutz 7, Lanete 5, Deutchman 3, Tubid 2.

GLO 90 – Cummings 26, Mercado 14, Washington 11, David 11, Taha 6, Nabong 5, Salvador 5, Lingganay 4, Mandani 3, Miller 3, Thiele 2, Belencion 0.

QS: 26-23, 54-50, 78-61, 101-90