 |
| Marqus Blakely and the Llamados rebounded from their Game 1 loss by tying the series at 1-all. |
B-MEG LLAMADOS over RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS, 85-80
Big Game James showed up when the Llamados needed him, burying an immaculate turnaround J over Jeff Chan to cement B-Meg’s Game 2 victory, 82-78 with about 20 ticks to go. That was the shot that made this PBA Finals series a best-of-five affair, but the real game-changer, perhaps even the series-changer, happened about 2 minutes earlier when Rain or Shine rookie Paul Lee reinjured his left shoulder.
With less than 2-and-a-half minutes to go in the game, Lee went for the steal and swiped the basketball being held by PJ Simon. Instead of Lee getting the ball, however, he went down writhing in pain, clutching his left shoulder, which was already enclosed in a sling.
Lee was eventually carried out on a stretcher in the dying seconds of the match, a little after Yap’s big shot. From the looks of it, the prospects of Lee returning to play in the series look bleak, but it all still really depends on how severe the injury is.
Game Report:
Stunned in Game One, B-MEG came out better prepared and made key adjustments, negating Rain or Shine’s physical game and pulling off a gripping 85-80 win in Game Two of their PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-seven finals series at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
James Yap hit a big, fall away jumper that broke the backs of the rallying Elasto Painters and enabled the Llamados to tie the series at 1-all.
 |
| James Yap drives left moments before unleashing a beautiful fadeaway jumper over Jeff Chan. |
“Big Game James turned out to be a Big Shot James,” said B-MEG coach Tim Cone.
Yap finished with 24 points and got plenty of help this time from import Marqus Blakely, who finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds as the Llamados bounced back strong, grabbing 19 more rebounds than their rivals (58-39).
“We outrebounded tonight and we were fortunate they shot only 52% from the field. We were looking for whatever advantage we can get to equalize the series, but the coaching staff did a great job coming up with plans and preparing us for Game 2,” added Cone.
Peter June Simon also played a valuable game Wednesday, finishing with 16 points and six rebounds to make up for his sub-par showing in Game 1.
Jamelle Cornley led Rain or Shine with 18 points and 14 rebounds followed by Jeff Chan, who contributed 12 points.
Paul Lee chipped in 11 points and seven assists before leaving the game the game because of an aggravated shoulder injury.
 |
| Lee holds his left shoulder while lying crumpled on the hardwood in the fourth quarter. |
Lee grimaced in pain in one crucial play after trying to steal the ball from Simon. He went down and stayed on the floor for a few seconds before he was carried off by his teammates. He stayed on the bench while his shoulder was treated, and a stretcher was later called to help carry Lee to an ambulance headed for Cardinal Santos Hospital.
BML 85 – Blakely 26, Yap 24, Simon 16, Barroca 8, De Ocampo 6, Villanueva 2, Pingris 2, Reavis 1, Urbiztondo 0.
ROS 80 – Cornley 18, Chan 12, Lee 11, Cruz 10, Norwood 9, Buenafe 7, Ibanes 7, Belga 4, Arana 2, Tang 0, Quinahan 0.
QS: 21-26, 44-41, 65-60, 85-80.
Lee injures his shoulder:
Yap hits the big shot:
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)
0 Comment