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| James Yap had his best game of the conference so far as B-Meg lived to fight another day. |
B-MEG LLAMADOS over RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS, 91-81
The Elasto-Painters had probably planned an elaborate celebration for what could’ve been their first title as Rain or Shine.
James Yap, however, made his own plans for Game 5, and his plans involved the B-Meg Llamados staying alive for a Game 6.
Yap was awesome in this encounter, connecting on more than half of his field goal attempts to finish with 30 points. Jamelle Cornley, Yancy De Ocampo, and Rafi Reavis supplied much-needed support, mainly because big man Marc Pingris was out of commission. Blakely, De Ocampo, and Reavis combined for 40 points and 41 rebounds as the Llamados dominated the interior. Another big thing was limiting Gabe Norwood to ZERO points in 37 minutes of action. Norwood had been averaging nearly 12 points per game in the first four matches of the Finals. This is also the first game in the conference where he was blanked by the opposing defense.
Game 6 is set on Friday with the Painters having another shot at destiny, while B-Meg can extend the series anew with another win.
Game Report:
James Yap played his finest game of the tournament, sizzling for 30 points to lead B-MEG to a 91-81 victory over Rain or Shine in Game Five of the Governors’ Cup finals Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum. The win allowed the Llamados to stay alive in the best-of-seven series, which Rain or Shine still leads, 3-2.
“Enjoy ko na lang ‘tong series, dahil down kami,” he said. “Wag lang naming bigyan ng pressure ang sarili namin, enjoy lang kami.”
B-MEG coach Tim Cone was all praises for his superstar after the game.
“He stepped up big time. He walked the talk and put the game on his shoulders. It’s like a Michael Jordan performance from him,” he said.
Yap sizzled for 11 points in the first period of the heated encounter, which saw the two-time Most Valuable Player called for a flagrant foul penalty one for punching Rain or Shine defensive specialist Jireh Ibanes.
“Ok lang naman sana kung pisikal lang, pero kung medyo sinasadya na, hindi na maganda yun,” he said.
But the penalty did not seem to deter Yap, who capped his 18-point first half performance with a late three-pointer before the break to give the Llamados a 44-41 lead.
The Llamados were holding on to a 59-56 lead at the 4:37 mark of the third quarter when import Marqus Blakely, who finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, tangled with Rain or Shine enforcer Beau Belga. It led to double technical fouls and Belga’s ejection. That seemed to fire up B-MEG, which ended the third period with a nine-point lead, 70-61, before cruising to victory in the fourth quarter.
B-MEG won despite missing Marc Pingris, who did not see action because of a stiff neck. Mark Barroca came off the bench and scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds while Yancy de Ocampo had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Llamados.
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| Marqus Blakely showed up to play in the Llamados' Game 5 thumping of Rain or Shine. |
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| Gabe Norwood was held scoreless for the first time in the conference, and it resulted in a Game 5 loss for the Painters. |
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| NBA Champion Coach Erik Spoelstra graced the PBA Finals and is being asked to help out the National Team. |
BML 91 – Yap 30, Blakely 24, De Ocampo 14, Barroca 9, Simon 7, Urbiztondo 2, Villanueva 2, Reavis 2, Gaco 1.
ROS 81 – Cornley 25, Chan 14, Arana 11, Cruz 8, Ibanes 6, Buenafe 5, Belga 4, Quinahan 4, Tang 2, Rodriguez 2, Norwood 0.
QS: 19-18, 44-41, 70-61, 91-81
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 & Paul Ryan Tan)
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