Early leaders Petron and
Ginebra continued their dominant play, while TNT, Alaska, and San Mig Super
Coffee all got separate wins in the past few days of action from the 2013-2014
PBA Philippine Cup.
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| Ranidel De Ocampo saved the day for TNT. |
This past Sunday, Petron beat
Meralco, 77-73. For a while there, it seemed like the Meralco found a way to
contain Petron's loaded lineup, but the Boosters leaned on a great running game
and suffocating defense to survive the Bolts. Petron forced 19 Meralco
turnovers, scoring 15 points off those errors, while also adding 13 total
fastbreak points. Petron struggled against the collapsing defense utilized by
coach Ryan Gregorio's wards, but the Boosters eventually found a way to scrape
past the Bolts for their seventh win in a row.
The Bolts were the smaller
team here, but they still managed to outrebound Petron, 58-52. Rabeh
Al-Hussaini, Reynel Hugnatan, and Jared Dillinger combined for 34 of those
caroms. The Bolts, however, couldn't complete their upset effort as they
sputtered from long range. Meralco usually relies on its snipers for those
all-important three-point bombs, but they just didn't fall in this one. As a
team, the Bolts connected on only 3 of their 18 three-point attempts, with John
Wilson, Dillinger, and Sunday Salvacion combining for 0/10 shooting from beyond
the arc.
Sure, as expected, June
Mar Fajardo was rock-solid again with 12 points, 19 rebounds, and 3 blocked
shots, but it was the dynamic play of veteran playmaker Alex Cabagnot that really
pushed Petron to this victory. Cabaggie made good on three triples, grabbed 8
rebounds, and dished out 6 assists as the Boosters remained unbeaten in the new
season. Needless to say, this performance further underscored Cabagnot's status
as one of the country's best point guards.
Two days later, San Mig
Super Coffee rallied to defeat Barako Bull, 90-88. Marc Pingris and James Yap
combined for 32 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals as the Mixers
rallied in the payoff period to pull the rug from under the Energy Cola. Rookie
big man Ian Sangalang also did really well, registering 15 points and 7
rebounds along with big play after big play in the fourth quarter.
On the other end, Barako
Bull just dropped the ball in this one. They were firmly in control in the
second half before SMC's surge in the last stanza. JC Intal exploded for 21
points here, nailing 4 threes, including a pair late in the game that really
put a scare into SMC coach Tim Cone. This was Intal's best game so far this
season, and coach Bong Ramos definitely hopes to see more of Intal's
high-flying acrobatics and sharp-shooting as the season wears on.
In Tuesday’s main game, Talk
N Text escaped Rain or Shine, 90-87. The Tropang Texters nearly got blindsided
here, and, in spite of the win, coach Norman Black looked far from satisfied on
the sidelines. Still, TNT will take this W, as it gives them third place in the
team standings. Ranidel De Ocampo came up big in the clutch here, and was
practically effective the entire game. RDO nailed three triples on his way to
20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block, leading the Texters to their
fourth win in six games. He was backstopped by Jayson Castro and Sean Anthony,
who scored 12 and 10 points respectively. Harvey Carey, meanwhile, anchored the
interior with 15 rebounds.
ROS fell behind by as many
as 20 points here mainly due to poor shot selection and even poorer percentages
in the first half. They were, however, able to right the ship somehow in the
third quarter and make a game of it. Still, the Painters weren't able to finish
the comeback. Suffice to say they probably got a huge lashing from coach Yeng
Guiao afterwards. They were outrebounded, 64-47, by TNT, and, frankly, missed
too many threes -- 23. Now ROS is sitting in a tie for fourth place with a 4-3
slate.
Last night, Ginebra overcame
Air21, 78-69. After the game, Air21 center Asi Taulava had this to say,
"You cannot coach height." Coming from a guy who's listed 6'9 and who
has seen more than his fair share of big guys from the Philippines and beyond,
that comment is big. And who was he talking about? Why, Ginebra's twin towers
no doubt! In this contest, both Japeth Aguilar (6'10) and Greg Slaughter (7'0)
were stellar. Aguilar 22 points, 12 rebounds, and, hold on to your horses,
EIGHT BLOCKED SHOTS, while 2013 top pick Slaughter added 19 points, 10
rebounds, and 3 blocks of his own. Both young bigs combined to shoot 16/24 from
the two-point area. Wow. Just unstoppable.
It was actually a very
very good thing Ginebra's towering tandem was on-target, mainly because the
Kings' outside shooting left much to be desired. As a team, Ginebra knocked
down only 2 of their 23 three-point attempts. Chris Ellis, LA Tenorio, and
Jayjay Helterbrand combined to shoot 0/9 from beyond the arc, while Mark
Caguioa and Mac Baracael were the only ones who made threes, shooting a
combined 2/8 from rainbow country.
Despite the loss, though,
here's one thing the Express can be proud of (I guess) -- they are responsible
for the resurgence in the Joseph Yeo's game. Dubbed "The Ninja," the
former DLSU cager seems to have finally found a niche with Air21, as he has
been putting up much better numbers than last year. It sure looks like his
being reunited with collegiate coach Franz Pumaren has a lot to do with that!
In the nightcap, Alaska won
over Meralco, 91-82. Veterans DonDon Hontiveros and Cyrus Baguio rose to the
occasion in this one as the Aces beat the Bolts to move up to a tie for fifth
spot in the team standings. Hontiveros shot 11/16 from the field in a
performance reminiscent of his San Miguel Beer days. He finished with 24 points
on top of 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Baguio, meanwhile, connected on
9/16 field goals and scored a total of 23 markers. He also grabbed 4 rebounds
and handed out 3 dimes. Alaska was able to show how good it can be when its
vets are all clicking.
Meralco was just outworked
in this one. Despite coming up with more rebounds, 50-48, the Bolts were
outscored on the offensive glass, 12-4. Meralco also ended up with more
turnovers, 13-8, which led to the Aces scoring 15 points off those errors. John
Wilson was the main culprit here with 4 TOs. Meralco wasted a great effort by
Reynel Hugnatan, who stepped up with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Bolts are
now tied at fifth place with their tormentors.
Gabby Espinas isn't
exactly top-of-mind when one talks about the top rebounders in the PBA, but,
man, he cleaned glass like there was no tomorrow in this one. The former PCU
Dolphin racked up TWENTY-THREE boards here, which was nearly half of Alaska's
total output. If he can be consistent with this kind of rebounding performance,
then the Aces might just be a dark horse come the quarterfinals.
Game Recaps:
PETRON BLAZE over MERALCO, 77-73
The Petron Blaze Boosters
had enough cushion to stave off a furious charge by the Meralco Bolts for a
77-73 victory in PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup action in Dipolog City on Saturday.
June Mar Fajardo finished
with 12 points, 19 rebounds, and three blocks to extend the Boosters’ winning
streak to seven games to open the conference.
The game was still tied,
46-all, midway through the third quarter before a 17-7 kick gave Petron a
double-figure lead.
The Boosters continued its
onslaught in the fourth quarter, opening up its biggest lead to 17 points a
couple of times, the last at 73-56 on a three-pointer by Marcio Lassiter.
But John Wilson caught
fire for the Bolts, who whittled down the imposing lead in the final period.
His three-point play with 41 seconds remaining capped a 17-4 run that whittled
down the Petron lead to just four points.
Meralco had a defensive
stop in the ensuing possession, but Wilson could not complete his heroics,
missing two three-pointers to end the game.
The Bolts’ record fell to
3-4 after the loss.
PET 77 - Cabagnot 17, Lassiter 16, Santos 14, Fajardo 12, Ross 8, Kramer 7
Lanete 3, Lutz 0
MER 73 - David 16, Wilson 16, Hugnatan 15, Al-Hussaini 11, Dillinger 8, Cortez
3, Caram 2, Sena 2, Timberlake 0, Salvacion 0, Guevarra 0 Allado 0
QS: 17-18, 34-37, 64-53, 77-73
SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE over BARAKO BULL, 90-88
Marc Pingris had 16 points
and 11 rebounds while James Yap added 16 and nine to lead the San Mig Super
Coffee Mixers to a hard-earned 90-88 victory over Barako Bull on Tuesday at the
SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
It was only the second
victory in seven games in the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup for the Mixers, who had
to rally from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter before finally
pulling through.
“It’s not supposed to be
this hard to win, but it is,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone after the
game, as the Mixers had to turn back a furious final push from Barako Bull for
the victory.
San Mig Coffee took
control of the game behind the hot shooting of Yap, who scored 12 points in the
first half. But the Mixers turned cold after halftime, allowing Barako Bull to
open up a 10-point spread.
Barako Bull was still
ahead, 73-63, before the Mixers went on a 18-5 run behind Pingris, who scored
13 points in the final period.
San Mig Coffee looked like
it had the game in the bag after Yap hit two free throws to give his team a
six-point lead, 88-82, with just 15.2 seconds remaining.
JC Intal, who led all
scorers with 21 points, answered back with a three-pointer to make it a single
possession deficit, 88-85.
Joe Devance split his free
throws for San Mig Coffee in the ensuing possession. Intal hit another
three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left to cut the deficit to one point, 89-88,
before Barako Bull sent Peter June Simon to the free throw line.
The Mixers’ super sub
split his free throws, and Pingris committed a loose ball foul on the rebound
play with 2.7 seconds remaining, giving Barako Bull one final chance to tie or
win the game.
But Ronjay Buenafe’s
desperation attempt at the buzzer failed to find the mark, sending Barako Bull
to its fifth straight defeat after winning its first two games.
Ian Sangalang added 15
points and seven rebounds for San Mig Coffee, while Simon and Mark Barroca
chipped in 13 apiece.
After the game, Cone tried
to put his team’s struggles in perspective.
“What doesn’t kill you
makes you stronger. We’re going to live by that,” he said. “We hope we don’t
get killed in the meantime.”
SMC 90 – Pingris 16, Yap 16, Sangalang 15, Barroca 13, Simon 13, Devance 9, De
Ocampo 3, Reavis 3, Cawaling 2, Mallari 0.
BAR 88 -Intal 21, Miranda 14, Buenafe 12, Isip 10, Maierhofer 7, Miller 6,
Pennisi 6, Jensen 4, Wilson 4, Lastimosa 2, Labagala 2, Marcelo 0.
QS: 24-19, 43-41, 58-66, 90-88
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| Gilas coach Chot Reyes presents the commemorative coffee table book for FIBA Asia 2013. |
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| Ian Sangalang isn't playing like a rookie at all. |
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| Willie Wilson tries a jumper for Barako Bull. |
TALK N TEXT over RAIN OR SHINE, 90-87
The Talk ‘N Text Tropang
Texters squandered a 20-point first half lead before holding on late behind the
heroics of Ranidel De Ocampo to defeat Rain or Shine, 90-87, on Tuesday at the
SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
De Ocampo finished with 20
points, scoring 18 of Talk ‘N Text’s 41 points in the second half to keep the
Tropang Texters’ head above water in the face of Rain or Shine’s furious rally.
It was the fourth win in
six games in the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup for the Tropang Texters, who looked
well on their way to booking a victory when they took a 43-23 advantage midway
through the second quarter.
But the Elasto Painters
slowly chipped away at the lead, cutting the deficit to 14 points, 49-35, at
halftime. Rain or Shine continued its rally in the third quarter, when it
scored 31 points to come within just six points, 72-66, heading into the final
period.
Rain or Shine finally took
the lead for the first time, 83-82, with just 3:22 left in the game after a
jumper by Jervy Cruz, who led the Elasto Painters with 14 points and nine
rebounds.
The game was still tied at
86-all before De Ocampo broke the game’s final deadlock with a jumper with
under a minute remaining in the game.
Rain or Shine had a couple
of chances to grab back the lead, but three-point attempts by Beau Belga and
Paul Lee with under a minute remaining failed to find the target.
De Ocampo split his free
throws with 12 seconds remaining to push the Talk ‘N Text lead to three points,
89-86. Rain or Shine gunner Jeff Chan drew a foul in the ensuing possession,
but he could make just one of two attempts from the line.
The Elasto Painters sent
Danny Seigle to the stripe in the next play, and the veteran forward split his
free throws to give Rain or Shine one more shot to tie the game. But Chan
turned the ball over in the final possession, allowing Talk ‘N Text to come
away with the win.
Jayson Castro and Sean
Anthony added 12 and 10 points, respectively for the Tropang Texters, which saw
seven players score at least seven points.
Gabe Norwood finished with
13 points while Chan and Lee chipped in 12 apiece for Rain or Shine, which lost
its second straight game to drop to a 4-3 win-loss record.
TNT 90 - DeOcampo 20, Castro 12, Anthony 10, Seigle 9, Williams 9, Fonacier 8,
Carey 8, Alapag 7, Reyes 3, Celiz 2, Poligrates 2, Baclao 0
ROS 87 - Cruz 14, Norwood 13, Chan 12, Lee 12, Belga 9, Arana 7, Nuyles 5,
Quinahan 4, Tang 4, Rodriguez 4, Almazan 2, Tiu 1, Teng 0, Ibanes 0
QS: 26-18, 49-35, 72-66, 90-87
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| Kelly Williams tries to go around the very rotund Beau Belga. |
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| Gabe Norwood gets bottled up by Kelly Williams. |
GINEBRA over AIR21, 78-69
Japeth Aguilar had 22
points and 12 rebounds while frontcourt partner Greg Slaughter added 19 and 10
to power Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to a 78-69 victory over the Air 21 Express
in the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Aguilar added eight blocks
while Slaughter had three as the Gin Kings rolled to their sixth victory in
seven games.
With their twin towers
dominating the paint, the Gin Kings opened up a 15-point spread at halftime,
41-26.
But the Express slowly
whittled away the deficit behind the hot hands of Joseph Yeo, who 21 of his 28
points in the second half. The Express cut the Ginebra lead to just five points
several times in the fourth quarter.
Each time Air 21 got
within striking distance, Ginebra always had an answer by going to Aguilar and
Slaughter, who combined for 15 of Ginebra’s 21 points in the fourth quarter to
quell the Express rally.
Chris Ellis was the third
member of the Gin Kings with 10 points and 11 rebounds, helping make up for
limited minutes from superstar guard Mark Caguioa. The 2012 Most Valuable
Player played just 16 minutes as he continued to recover from an illness,
managing to score eight points.
“Nakaka-recover na siya.
Siyempre galing sa sakit,” said Ginebra coach Ato Agustin, who noted that
Caguioa remained a big factor for the team by providing vocal leadership from
the bench.
Veteran center Asi Taulava
battled gallantly for Air 21, finishing with eight points and 13 rebounds. But
top gun Mac Cardona was held to just four points after making just 2-of-13
shots from the field.
“It’s a big help na
na-control namin si Mac-Mac,” said Agustin. “Si Joseph yung nag-take over. OK
sa amin yung isa lang yung mag-take over.”
KG Canaleta added 14
points for Air 21, whose win-loss record fell to 1-7.
GIN 78 – Aguilar 22, Slaughter 19, Ellis 10, Caguioa 8, Baracael 7, Tenorio 4,
Reyes 2, Helterbrand 2, Mamaril 2, Forrester 2, Monfort 0, Urbiztondo 0.
A21 69 – Yeo 28, Canaleta 14, Taulava 8, Camson 8, Cardona 4, Jaime 2,
Burtscher 2, Custodio 2, Arboleda 1, Matias 0, Espiritu 0, Sharma 0, Ritualo 0.
QS: 15-16, 41-26, 57-46, 78-69.
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| Japeth Aguilar continues to be a force of nature for Ginebra. |
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| KG Canaleta tries to shoot over Greg Slaughter. |
ALASKA over MERALCO, 91-82
The Alaska Aces used a
collective effort to turn back the Meralco Bolts, 91-82, and end their two-game
losing skid in the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia
Arena.
The Aces were struggling
coming into the match, having lost four of their last five games.
“Things didn’t go as
planned, and they were tough losses,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo.
“Sometimes you have to roll with punches.
“I’m blessed to have
character guys in the room with me.”
It was a long list of
heroes for Alaska, which drew 24 points from Dondon Hontiveros, 23 from Cyrus
Baguio, and 20 from Sonny Thoss. But just as big were the contributions from
Gabby Espinas, who hauled down a career-high 23 rebounds.
“I’ve never seen Gabby so
motivated, diving for loose balls, controlling his temper for the benefit of
the whole team,” said Trillo.
Alaska was in control for
most of the game, opening up double-figure leads several times. But Meralco
always remained in striking distance, always coming up with a run to close the
gap.
The game was still tied at
77-all midway through the fourth quarter before Hontiveros, Baguio, and Espinas
teamed up for a 10-2 run. That gave the Aces an 87-79 advantage with just 2:23
remaining, and proved to be the finishing kick Alaska needed.
For Trillo, it was the
perfect bounce-back game after the Aces “got embarrassed” in a blowout loss at
the hands of GlobalPort in their last outing.
“For me, I’m proud of
them. Just nice that it was a collective team effort through and through,” he
said.
Mike Cortez led the fight
for the Bolts with 22 points, while Gary David and Reynel Hugnatan chipped in
15 apiece.
Alaska improved its
win-loss record to 3-5, in a tie with Meralco, which lost for the second
straight game.
Meralco made amends on the
defensive end during the last five minutes of play, holding Alaska to just one
bucket while uncorking their next 12 points from the line or in the paint,
66-66. But Thoss prevented the Bolts from edging ahead, draining an elbow jumper
with 24 seconds left, 68-66, heading into the fourth.
After Meralco trailed by
as much as seven points, a Gary David trey jumpstarted a 10-2 Bolts rally,
77-all, halfway through the final quarter. But Cyrus Baguio delivered the gut
punch, as he drained two triples during a 12-4 run, then connected on charities
with 1:34 to play to reinstate a double-digit lead, 91-81.
Mike Cortez scored 22
points and had eight assists to lead the Bolts. Gary David and Reynel Hugnatan
tallied 15 points apiece and combined for 17 boards, while John Wilson notched
10 points and eight rebounds.
Alaska shot 35-of-86 (40.7
percent) from the field, while Meralco was 29-of-73 (39.7 percent). The Aces
also led in second-chance points (12-4) and turnover points (15-6). - AMD, GMA
News
ALA 91 - Hontiveros 24, Baguio 23, Thoss 20, Abueva 9, Espinas 7, Casio 4,
Dela Cruz 2, Jazul 2, Exciminiano 0, Eman 0
MER 82 - Cortez 22, David 15, Hugnatan 15, Wilson 10, Al-Hussaini 8, Dillinger
8, Sena 4, Timberlake 0, Salvacion 0, Guevarra 0
QS: 22-19, 50-45, 68-66, 91-82
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| James Sena splits the Alaska D. |
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| JV Casio gets through for the easy twinner. |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game recaps were compressed and
compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Rey Joble)
Images: Unless otherwise specified, images are from the PBA and AKTV.
(Photo credit to Paolo Papa, Paul Ryan Tan, and Pranz Kaeno Billones)
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