Two of the PBA’s top
guards unloaded on their respective foes yesterday. 2013 FIBA Asia First Team
member Jayson Castro dropped a career-high 33 on Alaska, while Mark Caguioa’s
final flurry reminded rookie Terrence Romeo that the Spark was still Sheriff in
these parts.
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| Jayson Castro was at his best against Alaska. (image by Pranz Kaeno Billones/Sports 5) |
Talk N Text overcame
Alaska, 114-111, in the opener, but they needed overtime to do it. Jayson
Castro, he of the 2013 FIBA Asia First Team, unleashed an awesome offensive
onslaught against the Aces. The former PCU Dolphin lit up the Mall of Asia
Arena for a career-high 33 points, doing everything from driving recklessly to
the hoop to shooting from beyond the arc. Castro's whole repertoire was on
display and hapless defenders JV Casio, RJ Jazul, and even Calvin Abueva could
only gasp as they tried (in vain) to shadow the Blur. Castro also added 5
rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals for good measure.
For the second straight
game, Abueva struggled with his foul management. The Beast got tagged for three
fouls in the first half, picked up two more in the third, and eventually got
his sixth in the middle of the payoff period, with still about 8 minutes to go.
Abueva did end up with 14 points and 5 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play,
but, again, his impact could have been greater had he managed his fouls better.
Also, he turned the ball over 5 times in such a relatively short stint on the
floor.
To say that the Alaska
Aces, last season's Commish Cup champs, are struggling right now is an
understatement. They could have actually won this game, but key misses from
both DonDon Hontiveros and JV Casio in OT, once again, led to a painful loss
for cvoach Luigi Trillo and his wards. Their immediate schedule may offer up
some chance to gain some momentum, however. In their next three assignments,
the Aces take on Air21, Petron, and GlobalPort. In theory, the Aces should match-up
well with all those teams, and they SHOULD have a fair chance against AT LEAST
the Express and the Batang Pier.
In the main game, Ginebra defeated
GlobalPort, 109-104, in a game that showcased two awesome scoring guards. Mark
Caguioa is the present and, if this game is the sole barometer, then Terrence
Romeo has the makings of the future. Romeo and Caguioa engaged in a superbly
entertaining shoot-out in the final period, with Caguioa rattling off 14
straight points in the dying minutes to halt GlobalPort's searing rally from 19
points down. The Spark eventually finished with 29 markers on top of 4 assists,
3 triples, and 2 rebounds. He was in vintage form late in the game, and he,
once again, showed everyone just how deadly he can be when he has laser-like
focus.
In hindsight, the Batang
Pier have nobody really to blame but themselves. They dug themselves into a
really deep hole and, though they did climb out of it and even took the lead in
the fourth, they just can ill afford any more late rallies like this. For this
team to be a bona fide threat, they need to play awesome two-way ball for 48
minutes. I love how they scored relentlessly off turnovers and in transition,
but they got clobbered on the glass and shot just 62% from the line. Clearly,
GlobalPort still has a lot of chinks to work on.
Quietly, LA Tenorio is
putting up really impressive numbers. Through three contests, the Gilas
playmaker is averaging about 14 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals
while shooting 46% from the field and 30% from rainbow country. He is the
third-most-efficient PG right now behind Jayson Castro and Terrence Romeo (who
is actually looking more like a combo-guard). His assists and steals have shot
up significantly, and it's principally because of Ginebra's huge frontline.
He's definitely one big reason the Gin Kings are titular contenders this
conference.
Game Recaps:
TALK N TEXT over ALASKA, 114-111 (OT)
Jayson Castro sizzled for
33 points to carry Talk ‘N Text to a 114-111 overtime win over Alaska in the
PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The lightning quick point
guard scored a three-point play with 2:11 left in the extra period that put the
Tropang Texters up for good, 109-108.
After a Talk ‘N Text
defensive stop, Jimmy Alapag and Dondon Hontiveros exchanged three-pointers in
the next two plays.
Still up by a hairline,
112-111, the Tropang Texters had possession with 22 seconds left. But Leo
Avenido came up with a defensive gem and found Hontiveros, who was fouled by
Jimmy Alapag with 15 seconds remaining.
The Cebuano hotshot,
however, muffed both free throws, and Alaska had no choice but to send Kelly
Williams to the line. The Tropang Texters forward split his free throws to give
the Tropang Texters more breathing room, 113-111, with 12 seconds left.
JVee Casio, who sent the
game into overtime with a three-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation,
missed a layup the could have tied the game. Alaska had no choice but to foul
Harvey Carey, who also split his free throws.
Casio had one last chance
to tie the game, but his desperation three-pointer at the buzzer failed to hit
iron, allowing Talk ‘N Text to escape.
“We knew this game was
gonna be really tough for us,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black. “We’ve
been struggling trying to get our rhythm back.”
It was Talk ‘N Text’s
second victory in three games, while Alaska lost its second straight match to
see its win-loss record drop to 1-3.
Jimmy Alapag and Larry
Fonacier broke out of their shooting slumps, scoring 20 and 18 points,
respectively.
“They’re two of the best
players in the country,” said Black. “They bounced back tonight.”
The defeat spoiled a
career-game from Aldrech Ramos, who scored 20 points to lead Alaska. Six other
players scored in double-digits for the Aces.
TNT 114 – Castro 33, Alapag 20, Fonacier 18, Carey 15, Williams 7, Reyes 7,
Poligrates 5, Peek 4, Anthony 3, Baclao 2, Celiz 0, Reyes 0.
ALA 111 – Ramos 20, Thoss 16, Hontiveros 15, Abueva 14, Casio 13, Espinas 12,
Baguio 10, Jazul 7, Dela Cruz 2, Eman 2, Avenido 0, Buenafe 0.
QS: 28-24, 50-48, 75-74, 103-103, 114-111
GINEBRA over GLOBALPORT, 109-104
Terrence Romeo is good.
But Mark Caguioa is still better.
The Barangay Ginebra San
Miguel superstar outdueled the GlobalPort rookie in a thrilling fourth quarter
shootout to push the Gin Kings to a 109-104 victory over the Batang Pier on
Thursday in the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“Nung fourth quarter, he
kept scoring. I said, you know what, I gotta do something,” said Caguioa, who
finished with 29 points to Romeo’s 27.
“Dun lumalabas yung
pagka-competitor ko.”
Romeo had carried
GlobalPort on his back, leading a fourth quarter uprising that erased a
19-point Ginebra lead. His basket against Caguioa gave GlobalPort a taste of
the lead, 93-91, with four minutes remaining.
But Caguioa, eager to
prove that he’s still the king of PBA gunners, responded with a three-pointer
to give the lead back to Ginebra. He followed that up with two free throws, an
assist for a Greg Slaughter dunk, a jumper, and a three-point play to push the
Ginebra lead to eight points, 103-95.
GlobalPort some signs of
life after Romeo scored a three-point play over Slaughter to cut the deficit to
six. But Caguioa replied with a three-pointer that put the nail on the coffin.
Japeth Aguilar added 18
points, while Greg Slaughter chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds for Ginebra,
which won its third straight game to open the tournament. LA Tenorio finished
with 15 points and nine assists.
Despite the victory,
Ginebra coach Ato Agustin said the game revealed some flaws with his team.
“Medyo na-rattle yung mga
players (during GlobalPort’s comeback), kaya hindi sila tumawag ng plays,” said
Agustin, who responded by going to Caguioa on a simple pick and roll the rest
of the way.
“Yung adjustment namin
nakuha namin sa fourth quarter. At least, we learned our lesson.”
Romeo’s performance
follows his 34-point explosion in GlobalPort’s last game. But he wasn’t the
only GlobalPort rookie to shine, as his backcourt mate RR Garcia also had the
best game of his young PBA career with 20 points. Another neophyte, Justin
Chua, contributed eight points and nine rebounds for the Batang Pier.
Jay Washington also added
23 points for GlobalPort, which lost for the second time in three games.
GIN 109 - Caguioa 29, Aguilar 18, Slaughter 17, Tenorio 15, Helterbrand 11,
Ellis 6, Monfort 6, Ababou 3, Reyes 2, Urbiztondo 2, Baracael 0, Mamaril 0,
Forrester 0
GLO 104 - Romeo 27, Washington 23, Garcia 20, Hayes 10, Mercado 10, Chua 8,
Lingganay 3, Belencion 2, Salvador 1, Menk 0, Ponferrada 0, Najorda 0
QS: 28-17, 56-38, 83-66, 109-104
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| Mark Caguioa sparked Ginebra's strong finish. (image by Nuki Sabio/PBA) |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game recaps were compressed and
compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Rey Joble)
Images: Unless otherwise specified, images are from InterAKTV and the
PBA. (Photo credit to Pranz Kaeno Billones and Nuki Sabio)
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