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| Cliff Hodge has been the highest-performing rookie of the past two weeks. |
For me, the
biggest PBA story for the past few days has been the great play of Meralco
rookie Cliff Hodge.
The #4 overall
pick in the 2012 PBA Draft has proven to be Meralco’s most consistent Bolt in
its first two games. The former Hawaii Pacific Sea Warrior is currently averaging
19.5ppg, 9.5rpg, 1.0spg, and 1.0bpg in 39.0mpg for the Manny Pangilinan
franchise.
In sum, he
has been the most productive rookie thus far. He’s #8 in points, #9 in
rebounds, and #2 in minutes for the whole league, and by far #1 among rookies
in statistical points (37.5 SPs). The next closest freshie is Kelly Nabong with
just 27.0 SPs.
Those stats
are much better than those of the three guys taken before him in the draft. As of
this writing, top pick June Mar Fajardo has accumulated only 20.0 SPs, while #3
pick Alex Mallari has just 13.0 SPs. Calvin Abueva, the #2 pick, has yet to
play for the Alaska Aces because the NCAA wars are still ongoing.
Game Recaps:
MERALCO BOLTS over ALASKA
ACES, 93-86
Look who’s
taking up the scoring cudgels for the Meralco Bolts.
Rookie Cliff
Hodge showed he’s more than just an energy guy as he led the Bolts with a
double-double performance and steered his squad to a 93-86 triumph over the
Alaska Aces in the PBA Philippine Cup at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum on
Wednesday night.
Hodge
finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, doing practically everything on the
floor while fellow newcomer Kelly Nabong also stepped up, grabbing 11 boards on
top of six markers.
“It’s
unusual to have a rookie dictate our effort level, but we’re fortunate to draft
Cliff Hodge,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio. “We thought in the beginning,
he’s there to provide us excitement and do the dirty work, but he’s been
scoring as well and has been averaging close to 20 points in his first two
games. It’s a good relief to have him.”
Hodge and
Nabong, two hardworking forwards, provided plenty of the energy and rebounding
that the team needed after losing stalwart Asi Taulava before the start of the
season.
“We’re
playing center by committee in the absence of Asi,” said Gregorio. “Sometimes
it’s Jay-R Reyes, sometimes it’s Carlo Sharma or Nabong. It’s a good thing we
were able to pull it through.”
Hodge pumped
in 12 of his total output in the third period when the Bolts pulled away. The
Bolts established their biggest lead, 63-48, on a putback by Sunday Salvacion with
still 7:04 left in the third.
High-scoring
guards Mac Cardona, Ronjay Buenafe and Sol Mercado took the backseat for the
streaking Hodge.
Cardona made
up for his sub-par performance against Talk ‘N Text in their opener, tallying
16 points. Buenafe contributed 13 while Mercado and Sunday Salvacion added 10
apiece for the Bolts, who played minus injured starting guard Chris Ross.
“He had a
tear in his right meniscus, so he’s day-to-day right now. Hopefully, he will
recover sooner or later. The good thing is no surgeries needed. Just rehab. He
wants to play, but if his future is in jeopardy, we’re not risking it,” added
Gregorio.
MER 93 – Hodge 20, Cardona 16, Buenafe
13, Mercado 10, Salvacion 10, Hugnatan 8, Nabong 6, Reyes 4, Borboran 2, Sharma
2, Artadi 2, Belencion 0
ALA 86 – Baguio 19, Thoss 17, Espinas
15, Casio 12, Hontiveros 9, Baracael 4, Bugia 4, Dela Cruz 4, Reyes 2, Jazul 0,
Eman 0, Cablay 0, Belasco 0
QS: 24-24, 50-44, 76-64, 93-86.
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| Sunday Salvacion and Cyrus Baguio get tangled up on the floor. |
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| JV Casio drives past Sol "The Sol Train" Mercado. |
PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS over BARAKO
BULL ENERGY, 98-89
Petron Blaze
banked on its run and gun game to notch its first win of the season.
The Boosters
unleashed 30 fastbreak points to run roughshod over the Barako Bull Energy
Colas, 98-89, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday night at the SMART-Araneta
Coliseum.
Chris Lutz,
still recuperating from his old injury, led the way for the Boosters with 22
points but it was Alex Cabagnot’s clutch performance that bailed Petron Blaze
out of trouble as they withstood a late rally made by Barako Bull.
Cabagnot had
two triples in the last six minutes, including his last one that gave the
Boosters a 93-82 lead with only 2:40 left in the game.
“We made
adjustments on the transition,” said rookie coach Olsen Racela, who picked up
his first career win as coach in the PBA. “Last game, we had difficult time
with our halfcourt set and we felt that 102 points was too much to give to any
team, so we also stepped up in defense.”
Arwind
Santos added 18 points while Cabagnot contributed 16.
Petron’s
fast-paced attack produced a positive result for the squad, but visibly
affected the game of 6-foot-10 center June Mar Fajardo, who struggled for only
three points and seven rebounds.
The top
overall rookie pick attempted five times, missed four shots and split his two
free throws.
But Racela’s
first victory was nearly threatened when the Energy Colas climbed back from 20
points down.
The lead was
cut down to as low as five by Enrico Villanueva’s split charities early in the
fourth period, 82-77.
But Cabagnot
kept things at hand for the Boosters as his two three-pointers touched off a
crippling 13-5 spurts by Petron Blaze, which pulled away anew, 95-82, in the
final two minutes.
“Nag-relax
kami. We have to play consistently for 48 minutes because any team in the PBA
once given an opportunity can come back from big deficits,” said Racela.
PET 98 – Lutz 22, Santos 18, Cabagnot
16, Duncil 8, Miranda 8, Yeo 7, Mallari 4, Washington 4, Ildefonso 4, Pena 4,
Fajardo 3
BAR 89 – Urbiztondo 17, Pennisi 16,
Villanueva 13, Anthony 10, Kramer 10, Tubid 10, Najorda 5, Seigle 4, Alvarez 2,
Cruz 2, Yap 0
QS: 24-20, 53-40, 80-68, 98-89
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| Sean Anthony goes up for a ballerina shot against Petron. |
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| Chris Lutz let the Boosters in a decisive win over the Energy. |
TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS
over GLOBAL PORT BATANG PIER, 108-104
Incoming
Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black was in a jubilant mood, and his Tropang Texters
didn’t let the GlobalPort Batang Pier spoil the fun.
Ranidel De
Ocampo banged in a three-pointer that put the game out of reach with 9.2
seconds left, allowing Talk ‘N Text to escape with a thrilling 108-104 victory
over GlobalPort in the Philippine Cup Friday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang
Texters needed big baskets from Jayson Castro, who scored 30 points, to turn
back the winless Batang Pier and give Black a triumphant welcome. The win comes
a day after he piloted the Ateneo Blue Eagles to their fifth straight UAAP
title.
The 10-time
PBA champion coach said he had intended to leave interim coach Nash Racela at
the helm, but couldn’t resist taking a more active role as GlobalPort looked to
steal a victory from Talk ‘N Text.
The two
teams battled in a tight first half, before a fiery third quarter had the
defending champion Tropang Texters threatening to break the game wide open. A
12-2 run capped by a Larry Fonacier three-pointer gave Talk ‘N Text an 86-70
advantage.
But
GlobalPort battled back with its own 16-2 run to bridge the third and fourth
quarters to cut the Talk ‘N Text lead to just two points, 88-86. The two teams
exchanged blows before a Vic Manuel jumper gave GlobalPort a one point lead,
94-93, with seven minutes left.
The Batang
Pier were still up, 104-101, with less than three minutes remaining when Castro
scored four straight points to give Talk ‘N Text the lead for good. GlobalPort
came up empty in its next possessions in the clutch, allowing De Ocampo to seal
the game with his clutch hit.
Ryan Reyes
and Larry Fonacier added 19 points apiece for Talk ‘N Text, which won its
second straight nailbiter. It defeated Meralco in overtime, 112-10, in its
first assignment last Friday.
Willie
Miller scored 22 points and rookie Vic Manuel added 21 to carry the fight for
GlobalPort, which missed Gary David due to injury. Rabeh Al-Hussaini, a former
Black protege at Ateneo who was benched in Batang Pier’s last game, added 17
points.
Black, who
has been handling for a month, said Talk ‘N Text is still a team in transition.
“It’s still
a work in progress for me,” said Black. “Players are still learning my system
offensively.”
He noted
that he had missed several Talk ‘N Text practices over the past weeks as he
concentrated on Ateneo’s playoff run, which would explain the Tropang Texters’
defensive struggles. Prior to taking over as coach, Black had served as Talk ‘N
Text’s consultant, playing the role of defensive coordinator for the squad.
Black, who
is making his return a decade after his last PBA head coaching gig, promised
the best is yet to come for Talk ‘N Text.
“It’s only a
matter of time before I turn this into a smooth running machine,” he said.
TNT 108 – Castro 30, Reyes 19, Fonacier
19, De Ocampo 15, Williams 11, Alapag 5, Peek 4, Carey 3, Gamalinda 3, Raymundo
0, Alvarez 0
GLO 104 – Miller 22, Manuel 21,
Al-Hussaini 17, Salvador 9 Vanlandingham 8, Deutchman 7, Guevarra 6, Yee 6,
Mandani 4, Cruz 2, Antonio 2, Lingganay 0
QS: 32-31; 57-52; 86-78; 108-104
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| TNT Head Coach Norman Black plunged straight into action a day after he won his 5th UAAP title with Ateneo. |
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| Jayson Castro loops one over Global Port's AJ Mandani. |
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| Willie Miller tries to elude the defense of Ryan Reyes. |
RAIN OR SHINE
ELASTO-PAINTERS over AIR21 EXPRESS, 99-98 (OT)
Jeff Chan
scored a career-high 35 points, including the go-ahead basket with 15 seconds
left, to lift Rain or Shine to a tense 99-98 overtime victory over Air 21 in
the Philippine Cup Friday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
With the
shot clock winding down in extra period, Chan found himself against the smaller
Wynne Arboleda. The southpaw hotshot drove right, sidestepped to his right,
before fading away for a baby jumper that trickled in to give the Elasto
Painters the victory.
Air 21 had
one final opportunity to steal the win, but Rain or Shine hounded Arboleda into
an airball on his attempt and stripped the ball from KG Canaleta off a rebound
play to preserve the win.
“We’re lucky
we got a good game from Jeff. His offense carried us for most of the game,”
said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao of Chan, last year’s Most Improved Player
who is off to a blistering start this season. Over his first three games, the
sharpshooter from Bacolod City has averaged 26.7 points, despite getting little
offseason rest after leading Rain or Shine to last season’s Governors’ Cup
title and playing for SMART-Gilas Pilipinas in two international tournaments.
Chan’s
brilliant performance bailed out the Elasto Painters, who looked like they had
the game in the bag in regulation. Rain or Shine led Air 21, 93-88, with just
23 seconds remaining in the game. But it allowed Nelbert Omolon to score a three-point
play with 10 seconds left to cut the Elasto Painters advantage to a single
basket.
Air 21 sent
Beau Belga to the free throw line in the ensuing possession, and the Rain or
Shine center split his foul shots to give the Elasto Painters a three-point
lead, 94-91. Arboleda raced down the court and shoveled a pass to Canaleta, who
hit a 25-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Gabe Norwood
and Jervy Cruz added 12 points apiece for Rain or Shine, which won its second
game in three outings. Air 21, which lost for the second time in three games,
was paced by John Wilson who scored 21 points.
Rain or
Shine dedicated the game in honor of late assistant coach Roehl Nadurata, who
succumbed to lung cancer last Tuesday. Nadurata, who has been part of Guiao’s
coach staff for 20 years, was a key member of the Rain or Shine brain trust
during its Governors’ Cup title run.
ROS 99 – Chan 35, Cruz 12, Norwood 12,
Belga 8, Quinahan 8, Ibanes 7, Arana 5, Tang 5, Jaime 3, Matias 0.
A21 98 – Wilson 21, Canaleta 13, Isip
12, Omolon 11, Arboleda 10, Sena 8, Baclao 8, Escobal 6, Taha 4, Ritualo 3,
Atkins 2.
QS: 18-26, 43-48, 75-68, 94-94, 99-98.
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| Jeff Chan sizzled for a career-best 35 versus the Express. |
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| Nino Canaleta tries an air reverse shot against the ROS defense. |
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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