The Aces and
Mixers made roaring comebacks, the Gin Kings won their fifth straight, and Eric
Dawson dumped 57 big ones this past week in the 2013 PBA Commish Cup.
Wednesday
saw Meralco beat Petron, 102-92. As a team, the Bolts shot better than 50% from
the field while also turning the ball over just 10 times throughout the game.
This made up for the huge deficiency in rebounding, where Meralco was
outclassed, 55-37, by the bigger Boosters. New Petron import Henry Sims was
visibly outplayed here. He shot only 9-of-22 from the floor and turned the ball
over 5 times with no assists. He was solid defensively, however, with 16
rebounds and 3 blocks.
On the other
end, Eric Dawson was just unstoppable. With Denzel Bowles and Mike Dunigan
hogging the headlines, many have forgotten about Dawson, who, perhaps, has the
most decorated resume of all the imports remaining here. A few days after
Carmelo Anthony dropped 50 on the Miami Heat, Dawson dropped 57 on Petron on
the strength of 20-of-34 FG shooting. He also had enough decency to grab 14 rebounds,
block 3 shots and get 4 steals. Bowles and Dunigan to Gilas? How about this
guy? THIS GUY.
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| Eric Dawson dumped 57 points on the hapless Petron Blaze Boosters. |
In the
second game, Alaska defeated Rain or Shine, 89-84. ROS’s Jeff Chan might be
Gilas PIlipinas's current chief sniper, but he was thoroughly outgunned by
Gilas's former principal shooter, Dondon Hontiveros. In a performance
reminiscent of his fourth quarter splurge against Japan in the 2011 Jones Cup,
the Cebuano Hotshot poured in 18 of his 22 points in the final frame and OT to
lead Alaska's awesome fightback. The Aces did a Ginebra, roaring back strong in
the fourth to force overtime and then dominated in the extra session to remain
firmly entrenched at the top spot. Alaska was actually outshot and outrebounded
overall, but they made up for it by showing more grit and hustle when it
counted the most.
2 out of 25.
8%. That's how badly ROS shot from rainbow country. Bruno Sundov and Chan made
one trey each, but the rest of the Painters were shooting blanks. Still, they
almost got away with it, leading by 17 going into the final canto.
Yesterday, Ginebra
overcame Air21, 90-84, as the V-Mack Attack worked wonders again for the Kings,
who are now riding high on a 5-game win streak. The burly Macklin pumped in 32
points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks for coach Alfrancis Chua,
thoroughly outplaying Air21's own import, Mike Dunigan, who had foul strouble
saddling him all game long. He ended up with only 16 points and 8 rebounds –
both way below his per game norms.
There was
only one other guy who finished with a double-double in this game. He scored 18
points and grabbed 11 rebounds. And you wouldn’t believe whom it was -- LA
friggin' Tenorio – the smallest guy on the court for most of this game's 48
minutes. The former Blue Eagle rifled in 4 triples and added 6 assists for the
crowd darling Ginebra squad.
In Friday’s
main game, San Mig Coffee won over Talk N Text, 83-82, due in no small part to
the terrific play of Marc Pingris. He scored 11 points and hauled down 10
rebounds to go with 4 assists and 2 steals as the Mixers reached .500 in the
standings. PJ Simon was awesome, too. I mean, who needs the distracted James
Yap when Simon is playing so well? He shot 7-of-12 from the field in this one
to finish with 15 points, including the winning turnaround jumper over Jimmy
Alapag. He also added 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal for good measure.
TNT led
79-69 with only a few minutes remaining. They probably thought they had the
game in the bag, and they actually did, but the SMC five just refused to fold.
Also, they can't possibly win with their starting backcourt combining for just
9 points.
Game Recaps:
BGY. GINEBRA over AIR21,
90-84
Barangay
Ginebra San Miguel pounced on the struggles of foul-plagued Michael Dunigan as
the Kings extended their winning streak to five games with a 90-84 win over the
Air 21 Express at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday to bolster their
playoff bid in the PBA Comissioner’s Cup.
Still
missing the services of top gun Mark Caguioa, the Kings’ locals provided plenty
of help for import Vernon Macklin as LA Tenorio, Elmer Espiritu and Chris Ellis
all rose to the occasion.
Espiritu
scored all 10 of his points in the second half, including a crucial
three-pointer at the 2:40 mark of the final quarter that pushed the Gin Kings’
lead to five, 84-79.
Another
unheralded player, Rob Labagala, also came through with an important basket
while a tip-in from Macklin in the last 28 seconds brought down the curtains on
the hard-fighting Express, who were forced to play all-Filipino for long
stretches as Dunigan was plagued by foul trouble thorughout the contest.
Dunigan
fouled out of the game with still 4:15 left in the game.
“I told them
huwag niyo na hanapin yung mga wala dito,” said Ginebra coach Alfrancis Chua.
“Yung mga hugot like Espiritu and Labagala pati yung iba naming mga players,
lahat nag-contribute.”
The Kings
won despite missing the services of Caguioa, Kerby Raymundo and Rico
Maierhofer.
Macklin led
Ginebra with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Tenorio had a double-double performance
of 18 points and 11 rebounds while also dishing out six assists.
The Kings
bucked a productive performance from Air 21′s KG Canaleta, who finished with 29
points built around five three-pointers.
Dunigan had
only 16 points and eight rebounds in what was easily one of his worst games in
the tournament.
GIN 90 – Macklin 32, Tenorio 18, Ellis
10, Espiritu 10, Helterbrand 6, Labagala 4, Mamaril 4, Baracael 3, Wilson 2,
Taha 1, Hatfield 0.
AIR 84 – Canaleta 29, Dunigan 16,
Cortez 12, Sena 8, Baclao 8, Custodio 6, Arboleda 3, Menor 2, Atkins 0, Wilson
0, Isip0, Omolon 0, Ritualo 0.
QS: 28-17, 46-41, 70-61, 90-84.
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| Niño Cañaleta tries to block this undergoal reverse by Rob Labagala. |
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| Vernon Macklin was a beast for the Gin Kings. |
SAN MIG COFFEE over TALK N
TEXT, 83-82
Outworked
and outhustled all game long, San Mig Coffee saved its best defensive effort
for the last six minutes of the game, holding Talk ‘N Text to just a single
field goal in completing a come-from-behind 83-82 win in the PBA Commissioner’s
Cup at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night.
The Mixers
were trailing most of the way and needed one late push to get back on winning
track.
They got
exactly that in the last six minutes, shutting down the Tropang Texters while
unloading a 14-2 run capped by PJ Simon’s short jumper for the final tally.
“We’ve been
outworked every game this conference,” San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone said
during the post game interview. “It’s been an inconsistent conference for us
and the frustrating thing is we all know we have capabilities of reaching great
heights, but we’re not doing it, and that frustrates us more.”
San Mig
Coffee won its sixth game in 12 games despite not getting much production from
James Yap, who only had three points in 26 minutes of play.
Cone
explained the reason for his superstar’s struggle.
“He’s been
sick the past two days. We also had Rafi Reavis who didn’t practice for 10 days
while Alex Mallari didn’t return as his knee was bothering him the past few
games until he couldn’t play it through when he went out in the first half.
We’re not making excuses, but it’s hard to be consistent when you don’t have a
healthy line up,” said Cone.
“But this
one is crucial for us not just for the standings, but to get our confidence
back.”
In pulling
off a comeback win, the Mixers needed a big effort down the stretch, turning
what looked like another disappointing loss into a dramatic victory.
“It’s a
tough win. We jumped on each other. I don’t know what happened in the last two
or three minutes, but we stuck on each other. We don’t expect a pretty win. We
have to come out and struggle. When we won the championship last year,
everything was a struggle,” added Cone.
SMC 83 – Bowles 18, Simon 15, Devance
15, Pingris 11, Barroca 7, De Ocampo 7, Yap 3, Reavis 3, Mallari 2, Gaco 2,
Alvarez 0, Najorda 0.
TNT 82 – Harvey 19, Castro 17, De
Ocampo 13, Reyes 12, Al-Hussaini 8, Fonacier 5, Alapag 4, Aban 2, Carey 2,
Gamalinda 0, Peek 0.
QS: 23-20, 40-49, 66-65, 83-82.
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| PJ Simon tickled the twine with this game-winner against TNT. |
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| Donnell Harvey tries to pull-up over Yancy De Ocampo. |
ALASKA over RAIN OR SHINE,
89-84 (OT)
Dondon
Hontiveros outgunned the entire Rain or Shine team from the three-point area,
lifting the Alaska Aces to a come-from-behind 89-84 overtime triumph Friday
night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“We were
trying to keep the game close,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo. “They got big
leads but we kept our focus and tried to play on positive note. Then Dondon got
hot.”
The Cebuano
Hotshot scored 18 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, helping
the Aces rally from a 22-point deficit to regain solo first place in the
Commissioner’s Cup.
Hontiveros’
three-pointer with 32 seconds left in regulation put the Aces on the driver’s
seat, 79-77, before Rain or Shine import Bruno Sundov answered with two free
throws to force overtime.
But in the
extra period, Hontiveros showed he wasn’t through yet. He had back-to-back
three-pointers that capped an 8-0 run for the Aces that proved enough to put
away the Elasto Painters.
While
Hontiveros waxed hot, Rain or Shine went ice-cold, making just two shots from
beyond the arc against 23 misses, including a wide open three-pointer by Jeff
Chan that could have won the game for the Elasto Painters in regulation.
ALA 89 – Dozier 23, Hontiveros 22,
Baguio 12, Casio 9, Abueva 8, Espinas 6, Reyes 4, Jazul 3, Belasco 2, Eman 0,
Thoss 0, Dela Cruz 0.
ROS 84 – Sundov 23, Lee 12, Norwood 12,
Chan 12, Belga 6, Tang 4, Quinahan 4, Ibanes 4, Arana 3, Tiu 2, Cruz 1, Matias
1, Rodriguez 0.
QS: 11-20, 27-44, 47-64, 79-79, 89-84
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| Beau Belga gives Gabby Espinas the deathly stare. |
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| Dondon Hontiveros waxed hot at just the right time for the Alaska Aces. |
MERALCO over PETRON, 102-92
Eric Dawson
scored 57 points to lead the Meralco Bolts to a crucial 102-92 victory over the
Petron Blaze Boosters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday at the SMART-Araneta
Coliseum.
“I haven’t
seen anything like this for a long, long time,” said Meralco coach Ryan
Gregorio. “It’s amazing this happened, especially with the advent of scouting
reports, but Eric was on fire.”
It was the
first 50-point game in the PBA since Zach Graham scored 51 points for the Air
21 Express in last season’s Governors’ Cup against the Powerade Tigers. It was
the highest total by any player since Derrick Brown scored 57 points in the
2004 Fiesta Conference.
Dawson’s
onslaught came at a crucial time for Meralco, which won its second straight
game to move into a triple-tie with Petron and Ginebra for third place in the
team standings, with both teams posting identical 6-5 win-loss records.
“It would be
an understatement if I say he had a good game, but I really thought he carried
us on his shoulders,” said Gregorio
The Meralco
import, who had been on fire averaging 34 points in his last two games, added
14 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks, outplaying Petron’s debuting import
Henry Sims, who scored 23 points.
It was
Petron’s third straight loss, with the Boosters’ last victory coming against
Rain or Shine when the squad won despite playing without a reinforcement.
Dawson got
critical local support in the fourth quarter, when the Bolts pulled away from a
close game. He teamed up with Reynel Hugnatan for a 18-2 run in the final
period that turned a 78-75 deficit into a 93-80 lead with just four minutes
left in the match.
MER 102 – Dawson 57, Cardona 13,
Hugnatan 13, Salvacion 8, Timberlake 4, Vanlandingham 3, Hodge 2, Reyes 2, Ross
0, Buenafe 0.
PET 92 – Sims 23, Lassiter 15, Santos
10, Cabagnot 9, Fajardo 8, Washington 8, Lutz 6, Miranda 6, Pena 5, Lanete 2.
QS: 22-28, 46-47, 75-70, 102-92
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| Marcio Lassiter tries to get around the defense of Meralco's Chris Timberlake. |
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)
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