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| LA Tenorio outplayed Jimmy Alapag as the Gin Kings won their second straight game. |
When Mark
Caguioa and LA Tenorio play well at the same time, not even the league’s top
team stands a chance. This was the dream of Coach Siot Tangquincen when the Gin
Kings pulled the trigger to get Gilas 2.0 starting guard Tenorio. They felt his
versatility would be a good complement to Caguioa’s free-wheeling style.
That’s
exactly what Ginebra got, at least in their last two games. In the Kings’ two
wins (against Global Port and Talk N Text), the Caguioa-Tenorio pairing
combined for the following averages: 38.0pp, 8.5rpg, 4.5apg, and 3.0 spg. Pretty
impressive, huh?
Before this
winning run, however, that dynamic duo normed just 29.0ppg, 8.9rpg, 6.6apg, and
2.1spg. The rebounding and assists went down simply because guys like Rudy
Hatfield, Rico Maierhofer, Chris Ellis, and Billy Mamaril have stepped up, but
the clear improvement has really been on scoring.
It’s a
no-brainer that Caguioa needs to score for Ginebra to win, but with a guy like
Tenorio, that’s not so apparent. Tenorio CAN score, but the expectations of him
have focused more on his playmaking ability. That’s not wrong, of course,
because the former Ateneo Blue Eagle is an awesome playmaker, but, at least for
this observer, the thing he does best is really putting that ball in the hole.
I think him
scoring in bunches alongside Mark “The Spark” will do more good than bad for
Ginebra, especially considering the spate of injuries that has befallen the
team.
Early on in
the season, Coach Siot had this to say about LA, “We need someone to take
charge, take control, make plays and make it easier and LA did that for his
teammates.”
In plain-speak,
that means LA needs to score more than defer.
Game Recaps:
SAN MIG COFFEE MIXERS over ALASKA
ACES, 77-68
San Mig
Coffee coach Tim Cone continued his mastery over his former team Alaska.
For the
fifth straight time, Cone’s new team, San Mig Coffee, defeated the Aces as the
Mixers banked on their solid team defense en route to a convincing 77-68
victory on Saturday in the PBA Philippine Cup in a road game in Lapu-Lapu City.
The Aces
have yet to win over Cone’s present team since the multi-titled mentor left
Alaska last season.
The Mixers
won in a game that they play best – defense. The teams set a record for fewest
combined points in a quarter (22 points combined), but Cone and his troops were
able to take the ugly win with a strong third quarter anchored on Mark Barroca
and James Yap.
Barroca came
through with yet another productive game, finishing with 15 points, but it was
former Alaska player Joe Devance who was steady all game long.
The 6-foot-7
Devance, back in harness after missing a large portion of last season’s
campaign due to various injuries, is making a return to form. He finished with
18 points and was named back-to-back best player of the game for his squad.
The Mixers
trailed the entire first half, but they didn’t allow the Aces to pull away.
In the
third, Barroca and Yap combined forces as San Mig Coffee started to gain the
tempo of the match.
Barroca’s
baskets, including two free throws in the fourth period, gave the Mixers their
biggest lead, 74-62, 1:28 left in the game.
SMC 77 — Devance 18, Simon 15, Barroca
15, Yap 11, De Ocampo 8, Villanueva 4, Pingris 2, Gonzales 2, Reavis 2
ALA 68 – Baguio 19, Casio 12, Thoss 11,
Abueva 8, Baracael 5, Hontiveros 4, Jazul 3, Dela Cruz 3, Espinas 2, Eman 1,
Laure 0, Belasco 0
QS: 12-14, 22-26, 47-43, 77-68
MERALCO BOLTS over PETRON
BLAZE BOOSTERS, 95-81
Meralco put
up an electrifying performance against Petron Blaze, 95-81, to bounce back from
a forgettable 25-point loss in their previous game in the 2013 PBA Philippine
Cup Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Bolts
played relentless basketball from the opening tip till the final buzzer to come
away with the easy win and improve their win-loss mark to 5-3.
Sol Mercado
unloaded 14 of his 22 points in the third period to help Meralco pull away,
while Mac Cardona dished out a near triple-double performance for the Bolts
with 16 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.
Reynel
Hugnatan also had 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field for Meralco,
which led by as much as 20 points in the game.
“After a
deflating defeat against Rain or Shine, we want to test our bounce-back genes
and we did it,” said Bolts coach Ryan Gregorio, who also drew 15 points from
rookie Cliff Hodge.
“Against
Rain or Shine, complacency was the enemy. In this game, from the opening tip
our lockdown defense was there and on offense, we’re hitting in all cylinders.”
Mercado
engineered the Bolts’ solid third quarter stint, scoring 11 straight points
that highlighted their 17-4 run to turn a 52-45 lead into a 69-49 cushion with
1:36 left in that stage.
The Boosters
trimmed the lead to 10 points at 80-70, but Cardona scored five straight and
Hodge sealed the win with an emphatic two-hand slam to put the game out of
reach, 87-70, with 3:37 remaining in the game.
“This was an
important win for us at this point of the conference. We still in the upper
echelon of the standings and give us a clear shot at No. 4,” said Gregorio.
Alex
Cabagnot paced the undermanned Petron quintet with 19 points while Chriz Lutz
and Arwind Santos netted 13 and 10 markers respectively.
It was the
Boosters’ third straight loss to drop their record to 3-6 with five games left.
They are now tied with Barako Bull for the No. 9 spot.
MER 95 – Mercado 22, Hugnatan 22,
Cardona 16, Hodge 15, Ross 9, Buenafe 6, Salvacion 3, Reyes 2, Belencion 0,
Bulawan 0, Borboran 0
PET 81 – Cabagnot 19, Lutz 13, Santos
10, Duncil 9, Miranda 8, Yeo 7, Faundo 6, Washington 5, Mallari 2, Sison 2,
Lassiter 0
QS: 25-20, 45-38, 69-51, 95-81
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| Mac Cardona tries to sue for time as Arwind Santos (L) and Joseph Yeo (R) try to trap him. |
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| Chris Lutz rises for a Statue of Liberty slam. |
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| Cliff Hodge slams one home with authority as the Bolts run roughshod over the Boosters. |
BGY. GINEBRA GIN KINGS over TALK
N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS, 104-101
Barangay
Ginebra San Miguel notched its second pair of back-to-back wins in the 2013 PBA
Philippine Cup with a 104-101 victory over defending champion Talk ‘N Text
Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Gin
Kings drew stellar games from LA Tenorio, Mark Caguioa and Rudy Hatfield to
improve their win-loss mark to 4-5 and deal the Tropang Texters only their
second loss.
But Ginebra
had to secure one offensive rebound in the closing seconds to thwart the
last-ditch stand of Talk ‘N Text.
Caguioa, who
was hit by wayward elbow of Ali Peek that resulted to a cut on his upper left
eye, had 22 points and 11 rebounds. Tenorio added 22 points while Hatfield
tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end, to
lead Ginebra to the important win.
“Good game
from the players and it’s a good win for us,” said Ginebra coach Siot
Tanquingcen who also got 11 points apiece from Chris Ellis and Jayjay
Helterbrand.
“Somehow the
guys are starting to understand they need to involve everybody. Alam na nila
how the system goes. But it’s still a long way to go. It’s still a work in progress.”
Ranidel de
Ocampo paced the Tropang Texters with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Jayson
Castro added 18 points and eight assists.
Jimmy Alapag
and Larry Fonacier netted 17 and 16 points, respectively, for Talk ‘N Text,
which stays at the top spot with a 7-2 record despite the loss.
Ginebra
dominated the game from the get-go and threatened to pull away after taking an
85-72 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Kings
were still in control at 99-91 before the Tropang Texters threatened at 101-104
on Fonacier’s triple with 5.6 seconds left.
Rob Labagala
was sent to the 15-foo line but missed both bonus shots. Luckily for Ginebra,
Labagal collared the offensive board to seal the win.
GIN 104 – Caguioa 22, Tenorio 21,
Hatfield 12, Ellis 11, Helterbrand 11, Mamaril 9, Maierhofer 6, Espiritu 5,
Wilson 4, Taha 3, Labagala 0
TNT 101 – De Ocampo 20, Castro 18,
Alapag 17, Fonacier 16, Williams 11, Reyes 5, Aban 5, Peek 5, Ferriols 2, Carey
2, Gamalinda 0, Dillinger 0
QS: 32-29, 54-48, 83-72, 104-101
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| Mark Caguioa drops 22 as Ginebra hands Talk N Text only its 2nd loss of the season. |
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| Rudy Hatfield gets a rare open look under the basket. |
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 Paul Ryan Tan)
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