Semifinal action in the 2013 PBA Commish Cup
continued to heat up as both series are now squared at 1-1 after a whirlwind
weekend of hoops. San Mig Coffee got the jump on Alaska this past Saturday only
to be blown out in Game 2 yesterday, while the Texters contained Vernon Macklin
to tie things up with the Gin Kings. Hostilities will cease to give way to this
coming weekend’s All-Star activities in Davao, and games will resume next week.
 |
| Denzel Bowles hit three straight buckets to lift the Mixers over Alaska in Game 1. |
This past Saturday, San Mig Coffee beat Alaska, 71-69,
in Game 1 of their semifinal match-up to take a 1-0 lead. It was a game
characterized by great defense – defense reminiscent of Mike Fratello's
Cleveland Cavaliers from the 90s!!! SMC coach Tim Cone remarked how that first half
was the best defensive half of any basketball game he's been a part of in the
past 24 years. Cheers to good old-fashioned defense!
Oh but there were heroes, too, like Denzel Bowles
coming through in the end. Bowles had struggled all throughout with just 6
points before displaying great hero ball in the dying minutes. He scored the
last 6 points of the entire game to steal Game 1 and lift the Mixers to an
improbable W. Of course, his legend continued to grow, too.
In Sunday’s showcase game, Talk N Text overcame Bgy.
Ginebra, 85-79, despite not having national pool member Jared Dillinger. The
killer was a 12-0 run to start the fourth for TNT. The Texters looked like a
lost cause heading into the final frame down 9 and with RDO suffering through
foul trouble, but they buckled down and mounted a searing rally. And RDO? He
pumped in 10 of his 16 points in that pivotal fourth quarter.
V-Mack was limited to just 15 points on 5-of-14
shooting from the field tonight, but it was his free throw shooting that
compounded his woes. The Ginebra import managed to hit just 5-of-10 from the
stripe.
Just last night, Alaska also squared its series by
beating San Mig Coffee, 86-67, for the first time since Luigi Trillo took over
the head coaching reigns. This time around, Robert Dozier showed Denzel Bowles
up. The former Memphis Tiger dropped 28 points on top of TWENTY SEVEN rebounds,
shooting 13-of-16 from the floor. Needless to say, it was an amazing
performance from one of the top candidates for the Bobby Parks Best Import of
the Conference. Meanwhile, Bowles ended with a measly 8 points on 4-of-12 FG
shooting. EIGHT points in 43 minutes? This was a pedestrian in a Denzel Bowles
costume. For sure.
The Aces were a picture of efficiency here as they shot
50% from the 2-point area, had more rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks PLUS
fewer turnovers than SMC. No wonder it was a blowout. Now about those friggin'
free throws… (just 48% accuracy).
Game Recaps:
SAN MIG
COFFE over ALASKA, 71-69
Denzel Bowles struggled all game, but scored the last
six points for his team, including the winning jumper with six seconds left to
lift San Mig Coffee over Alaska, 71-69, Saturday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The win gave the defending champion Mixers a 1-0 lead
in their best-of-five Commissioner’s Cup semifinals series and preserved coach
Tim Cone’s perfect record against his former team.
“Denzel, those last three shots, what do you do? What
do you do defensively?” Cone said after the game.
“I’ve said this before: Denzel, he’s a big game guy,
he’s a big moment guy.”
Bowles finished with just 12 points. He had a
difficult time scoring against the defense of the Aces, who battled the Mixers
in a fierce defensive struggle that saw the two teams combine for just 45
points in the first half.
“Honestly, at halftime, I laughed to my coaching
staff,” Cone said.
“It wasn’t like we were missing open shots.
Everything was just incredibly contested. It was the best defensive half I’ve
been a part of in my 24 years of coaching.”
The Mixers got plenty of sparks. Peter June Simon
top-scored with 15 points, while Mark Barroca scored all 13 of his points in
the third quarter to keep San Mig Coffee afloat. James Yap, meanwhile, once
again battled his back problems to finish with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Robert Dozier finished with 21 points for Alaska,
which saw no other Aces player score in double-figures.
SMC 71 - Simon 15, Barroca 13, Bowles 12, Yap 10, Devance
6, Gonzales 5, Pingris 5, Reavis 2, De Ocampo 2, Mallari 1, Najorda 0.
ALA 69 - Dozier 21, Abueva 9, Hontiveros 8, Thoss 7, Baguio
7, Jazul 6, Casio 6, Espinas 5, Dela Cruz 0, Belasco 0.
QS: 7-11,
24-21, 50-48, 71-69
 |
| Coach Tim Cone continued his undefeated streak against Luigi Trillo last Saturday. |
 |
| JV Casio struggled big time in Game 1. |
TALK N
TEXT over BGY. GINEBRA, 85-79
Down big heading into the fourth quarter and playing
against a mammoth hostile crowd, Talk ‘N Text could have easily folded.
Instead, the Tropang Texters dug deep and displayed
their championship poise, using a furious fourth quarter run to defeat Barangay
Ginebra San Miguel, 85-79, before 17,627 fans Sunday at the SMART-Araneta
Coliseum.
“There was a sense of urgency there in the fourth
quarter,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black.
The Tropang Texters were down by nine points, 68-59,
heading into the fourth quarter. But they opened the final period with a 12-0
run, before holding steady in the face of a furious Ginebra fightback to tie
their best-of-five Commissioner’s Cup semifinals series at one game apiece.
“I’m just really happy that we decided to play
defense tonight,” said Black, whose team gave up 104 points in a lopsided Game
One defeat last Friday.
The Tropang Texters held Vernon Macklin to just 15
points, after the Ginebra import broke loose for 25 in the series opener. They
also hounded Ginebra star LA Tenorio to just eight points on 4-of-16 shooting,
forcing him to miss all seven attempts from beyond the arc.
Talk ‘N Text’s point guard tag team of Jayson Castro
and Jimmy Alapag paced the squad, scoring 22 and 17 points, respectively. But it
was Ranidel De Ocampo who came up biggest in the clutch for the Tropang
Texters, scoring 10 points in the final period, including a dagger
three-pointer with 33.7 seconds that put away the game for Talk ‘N Text, 83-79.
It was redemption for De Ocampo, who played just 22
minutes after battling foul trouble all game.
“I thought they were rather cheap fouls, although he
did reach in. He got called for a couple of flopping fouls on LA Tenorio,” said
Black.
“I wasn’t happy with the calls, but we’ve got to respect
the way the referees called the game.”
The series resumes on May 8 to give way to the PBA
All-Star Weekend, and Black is hoping the long break will allow his team to
recharge.
“That would probably help us more than hurt us,” said
Black. “I think it will benefit both teams. Both of us have injuries to key
players.”
Black’s big concern, however, is the inclusion of
several Tropang Texters in the lineup of the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national
pool.
“A lot of our players are on the national team, so
it’s gonna be work instead of rest for them,” said Black.
TNT 85 - Castro 22, Alapag 17, De Ocampo 16, Jordan 14,
Carey 6, Al-Hussaini 5, Reyes 4, Aban 1, Raymundo 0, Fonacier 0, Ferriols 0.
GIN 79 - Raymundo 17, Macklin 15, Urbiztondo 15,
Helterbrand 12, Tenorio 8, Ellis 6, Taha 2, Baracael 2, Maierhofer 2.
QS: 22-20,
47-44, 59-68, 85-79
 |
| Vernon Macklin rocks the rim in the face of Jerome Jordan's D. |
 |
| Jayson Castro came to play in Game 2. |
 |
| RaniDIRK hit the big shots in the fourth to square the series. |
ALASKA over
SAN MIG COFFEE, 86-67
After Game One of the Commissioner’s Cup semifinals
series between Alaska and San Mig Coffee, the headlines were all about Mixers
import Denzel Bowles.
In the second game, Aces reinforcement Robert Dozier
decided he wanted the spotlight for himself.
Dozier put together a dominant performance, posting
28 points and 27 rebounds to lead Alaska to a series tying 86-67 victory over
San Mig Coffee Monday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The former University of Memphis forward was all over
the court, missing just three shots as he completely outclassed Bowles, who was
held to a career-low eight points.
“I thought Robert was sensational,” said Alaska coach
Luigi Trillo, who team earned its first-ever win over San Mig Coffee coach Tim
Cone, the former Aces coach who led the franchise to 13 championships over 22
years. Cone had previously won nine straight games against his old team.
Trillo said the experience in Game One helped Dozier.
“I was proud of him that he toughened up,” said the
coach.
Bowles, who scored the game-winning jumper in the
opening game, shot just 4-of-12 from the field, though he grabbed 17 rebounds.
“I thought Bowles was maybe a little bit tired, but
we did a good job on him,” said Trillo, who paid tribute to his frontcourt for
their effort against last year’s Commissioner’s Cup Best Import.
“Robert and Sonny [Thoss] are pillars. But also, to
mention, Gabby Espinas and Nic Belasco. I think they tired Denzel out.”
Point guard JVee Casio backstopped Dozier, scoring 16
points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc to rebound from a poor shooting
performance in Game One.
The series resumes on May 8 to give way to the PBA
All-Star Weekend, a break that will serve both teams well, according to Trillo.
“Both teams now will be rested,” he said. “Expect a
dogfight.”
ALA 86 - Dozier 28, Casio 16, Thoss 8, Baguio 8, Hontiveros
5, Espinas 4, Jazul 2, Laure 2, Dela Cruz 2, Bugia 1, Ramos 0, Reyes 0, Eman
0,Belasco 0.
SMC 67 - Devance 15, Simon 15, Bowles 8, Yap 5, Barroca 4,
Alvarez 3, Mallari 3, Pingris 3, Reavis 3, Ponferrada 2, Gaco 2, Najorda 2, De
Ocampo 2, Pacana 0, Gonzales 0.
QS: 24-14,
43-28, 63-44, 86-67
 |
| Calvin Abueva is the latest to join the dramatic circus of James Yap's life. |
 |
| Rob Dozier was dominant as Alaska finally broke the ice against SMC. |
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 Paul
Ryan Tan)
0 Comment