The teams of
the San Miguel Inc. went 2-1 this past weekend. Both the Mixers and the
Boosters came through with great performances, while the Gin Kings were stymied
by the streaking Painters.
In Naga City
this past Saturday, Tim Cone's locals seemed to have found their groove as they
were the principle perpetrators of the Mixers’ victory over the Batang Pier. PJ
Simon, James Yap, and Joe Devance all combined for 49 points to help push SMC
to only its second win of the conference. The downside, however, was the fact
that Denzel Bowles's foul troubles limited his time on the floor in the second
half. He eventually fouled out. This is what really helped GlobalPort get back
in the game after they were down by as many as 23 points in the second period.
One thing is clear – no Bowles? Big problem. SMC's big cushion prevented a
total collapse, but they cannot count on having that luxury every game.
Another
thing is also clear –now the Batang Pier are falling fast. After a promising
start to the conference, the new-look GlobalPort quintet has hit a snag.
They've lost their last three games and have yet to face third-running Rain or
Shine and undefeated Alaska. Gulp.
A day later,
Ronald Tubid was awesome in Petron’s triumph over Barako Bull. No, he didn't
score 20 points or bury someone's face against the hardwood (he can, you know),
but he did hit 3 of 4 attempts from beyond the arc (including a rare 4-point
play) and helped put the clamps on erstwhile hot-shooting Josh Uribiztondo, who
managed just 2-of-8 FG shooting. Tubid also did a helluva job on the glass,
rebounding the ball 8 times, which was second only to Renaldo Balkman's total.
On the other
hand, the Energy Cola had a really horrible time. It's official now – Barako
Bull is on a downward spiral. After securing second place with a win over Air21
last February 22, the Energy Cola have dropped each of their last 2 assignments
BY DOUBLE-DIGITS. They were norming about 83ppg in their first four matches,
but they've put up only 75ppg in those two losses. They've sunk to .500 with
the fast-rising Meralco Bolts and San Mig Coffee Mixers right at their heels.
My question
after this game is this: is it too early to declare Balkman the Best Import? Of
course it is, but, hey, he's already registered an impressive body of work. I
think both Robert Dozier and Keith Benson have been solid, and, of course,
Denzel Bowles should really settle into things pretty soon, but, man, Balkman
is showing everyone why he made the NBA grade a few years ago. I mean, he's
registered a double-double in EVERY game so far, including 33 points (a
conference-high for him) and 14 boards against Barako! #whatisdominant
San Miguel
Inc.’s only defeat this past weekend came in yesterday’s very physical and
free-throw-shooting-ineptitude-marred main game. It was all because of – Big.
Bad. Beau. Belga. The burly 6'6 former PCU Dolphin held his own against
Ginebra's Vernon Macklin, and, boy, did Belga smack around the opposition. He
topped ROS with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He also hit the marginal
free throws in the dying seconds to seal the W for coach Yeng Guiao. This is now
the Painters' fourth straight victory after dropping their initial assignment
against the Aces.
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| Beau Belga made the Kings feel every ounce of his extra rice heft last night. |
This was
Exhibit A in the category "wasted opportunities" for Ginebra.
Everything seemed to be clicking offensively for the Kings, not to mention Bruno
Sundov of ROS getting saddled with foul trouble all game long. Macklin had
another beastly outing, scoring 27 markers to add to his 16 ribbies, while
Kerby Raymundo also stepped up with 18 points and 11 boards. Backcourt wonders
Mark Caguioa and LA Tenorio also did well, pairing up for 35 points, but, alas,
miscues in the second half will haunt them for the foreseeable future. Sayang.
Despite the win,
one big concern for ROS is this: is Bruno Sundov wearing out his welcome? For
the third game in a row, the Croatian center played under 30 minutes mainly
because of foul trouble. For the second straight game, too, he fouled out. His
total production in 24 minutes? 12 points and 5 rebounds. Yikes. He seems to be
the walking, talking version of the Law of Diminishing Returns.
Game Recaps:
SAN MIG COFFEE MIXERS over GLOBALPORT
BATANG PIET, 91-84
Denzel
Bowles wasn’t quite the monster in his third game back for San Mig Coffee.
Fortunately
for the Mixers, Peter June Simon and James Yap rose to the occasion just when
their foul-troubled import needed backup against GlobalPort.
Simon scored
19 points, while Yap hit a dagger three-pointer at the height of a furious late
rally by the Batang Pier, as San Mig Coffee grabbed its second straight
Commissioner’s Cup win, 91-84, at the Jesse Robredo Coliseum in Naga City.
The Mixers
led by as much as 23 points in the second quarter, but Bowles’ foul trouble —
he picked up his fifth foul late in the third period — allowed the Batang Pier
to come back.
Gary David
and Japeth Aguilar tried to lead the GlobalPort uprising, only to fall short.
David finished with 27 points while Aguilar added 21.
But the
Batang Pier were unable to set up opportunities for import Justin Williams, who
scored just 11 points despite Bowles suffering from foul trouble.
SMC 91 – Simon 19, Bowles 18, Yap 15,
Devance 15, Mallari 9, Barroca 8, Pingris 3, Najorda 2, De Ocampo 2, Gaco 0,
Ponferada 0.
GLO 84 — David 27, Aguilar 21,
Mercado19, Williams 11, Yee 3, Lingganay 2, Salvador 1, Miller 0, Deutchman 0,
Mandani 0, Adducul 0.
QS: 27-15, 46-33, 68-56, 91-84.
PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS over BARAKO
BULL ENERGY COLA, 91-78
The Petron
Blaze Boosters led from wire to wire against Barako Bull to cruise to a 91-78
victory Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
It was the
fifth straight Commissioner’s Cup victory for Petron, who drew another stellar
game from import Renaldo Balkman. The former New York Knicks draft pick posted
33 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, and four steals for the Boosters, who
have not lost since dropping their opening day assignment against GlobalPort.
Petron took
an 18-point lead at the half before building a 68-47 lead after three quarters.
Barako Bull couldn’t come any closer than 12 points in the final quarter to
suffer its second straight double-digit loss.
Despite the
win, coach Olsen Racela still found things that can be improved about the
Boosters’ performance.
“When you’re
a coach, a 20-point lead is not enough. Pagka-player, kampante ka na eh,” he
said, adding that he still wants his players to continue playing hard and
executing the offense even while nursing a big lead.
“I think
that’s where we wanna improve as a team.”
Arwind
Santos added 14 points for Petron, while June Mar Fajardo and Ronald Tubid
chipped in 10 apiece. Tubid, who scored his 5000th PBA career point on a
three-pointer in the fourth quarter, again made a huge impact on the defensive
end, hounding Barako Bull top gun Josh Urbiztondo to just six points on 2-of-8
shooting from the field.
Import Evan
Brock carried the fight with 20 points and 24 rebounds for Barako Bull, whose
win-loss record dropped to 3-3.
PET 91 – Balkman 33, Santos 14, Fajardo
10, Tubid 10, Lassiter 6, Miranda 4, Pena 4, Lanete 3, Yeo 3, Washington 3,
Sison 1, Faundo 0.
BAR 78 – Brock 20, Seigle 17, Anthony
12, Maliksi 9, Urbiztondo 6, Macapagal 5, Allado 5, Villanueva 4, Weinstein 0,
Kramer 0, Intal 0.
QS: 21-16, 45-27, 68-47, 91-78
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| Renaldo Balkman is all smiles with coach Olsen Racela after the Boosters' latest win. |
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| Petron zooms to its fifth win in a row! |
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| Jonas Villanueva gets an earful from coach Rajko Toroman. |
RAIN OR SHINE
ELASTO-PAINTERS over BGY. GINEBRA GIN KINGS, 96-93
The Rain or
Shine Elasto Painters won their fourth straight game, but not before weathering
a late three-point flurry by Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 96-93, Sunday at the
SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Two free
throws by Beau Belga gave Rain or Shine a five-point lead, 92-87, with just
12.2 seconds to go. Mark Caguioa then made a three-pointer in the next play to
cut the Ginebra deficit to just two points.
Paul Lee hit
two more charity shots for the Elasto Painters, before LA Tenorio nailed another
three-point basket to cut Rain or Shine’s lead to a single point.
Belga once
again came through for the Elasto Painters from the free throw line with just
3.9 seconds left, and Tenorio’s desperation three-pointer failed to find the
target to allow Rain or Shine to book the victory.
Rain or
Shine won despite missing Bruno Sundov for most of the second half. For the
second straight game, the Croatian import battled foul trouble, playing just 24
minutes and scoring 12 points.
Belga
stepped up big for the reinforcement, scoring 18 points, grabbing nine
rebounds, and blocking two shots. He also got the best of Vernon Macklin in
several plays, faking off the Ginebra import for easy baskets on a few
occasions.
Macklin had
his best game of the tournament with 27 points — mostly on dunks and free
throws — and 16 rebounds. But he was still miserable from the foul line, going
just 5-of-11.
Rain or
Shine improved its win-loss record to 4-1. The loss, the Gin Kings’ fifth in
six games under new coach Alfrancis Chua, sent Ginebra back to last place in
the standings.
ROS 96 – Belga 18, Cruz 13, Sundov 12,
Ibanes 12, Lee 11, Arana 11, Quinahan 7, Norwood 5, Tiu 3, Matias 2, Tang 2,
Rodriguez 0.
GIN 93 – Macklin 27, Caguioa 18,
Raymundo 18, Tenorio 17, Baracael 7, Mamaril 3, Espiritu 2, Hatfield 1, Taha 0,
Ellis 0, Labagala 0, Maierhofer 0, Helterbrand 0.
QS: 27-23, 51-43, 70-68, 96-93
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| Elasto-Painter heartthrob Chris Tiu gets mobbed by fans postgame. |
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| Pint-sized LA Tenorio didn't have problems going around the bigger Bruno Sundov in this play. |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game
recaps were compressed and compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Rey
Joble)
Images: Images are from InterAKTV and the
PBA. (Photo credit to Paolo Papa and Pranz Kaeno Billones)
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