The 2013-2014 PBA
Philippine Cup semifinals continued to roll these past few days, with Rain or
Shine rallying in the payoff period to upend Petron and gain a 2-0 edge in their
series. In the other best-of-7 affair, Ginebra solved the SMC puzzle with some
good old 2-3 zone defense to take Game 2 in convincing fashion and tie their series
count at 1-all.
This past Thursday, Rain
or Shine overcame Petron Blaze, 103-94. ROS actually seemed flustered for much
of the match before uncorking a decisive 23-6 run in the payoff period to upend
the Petron Blaze Boosters and gain a significant 2-0 edge in their best-of-7
series. Gilas sniper Jeff Chan sparked that big rally with two triples, and
fellow Gilas stalwart ended it with two free throws as ROS commandeered the
lead, 95-91, and maintained it till the end. Five guys scored in double-digits
for the Painters, with Chan’s 20 points and 5 triples leading the way.
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| Jeff Chan waxed hot in the second half to spark the Painters' decisive endgame rally. |
June Mar Fajardo did well
offensively against the smaller ROS frontcourt, but he was visibly bothered by
the Painters’ physical play. The Kracken shot 7/10 from the field, but this was
balanced out by his 6 turnovers, 4 missed free throws, and a costly technical
foul in the fourth quarter. The Boosters did a really good job of establishing
Fajardo in the paint, often finding him in his sweet spots close to the rim,
but they just couldn’t maintain the pressure for the entire 48 minutes. Petron
left the door open for Rain or Shine, and the latter just took advantage.
Third pick overall Raymond
Almazan showed everyone why he was a highly-coveted player out of Letran
College. The 6’7 beanpole played just 18 minutes, but he recorded 15 points and
5 rebounds, shooting a perfect 6/6 from the floor. He even hit one three!!!
Almazan provided a HUGE lift off the pine for coach Yeng Guiao, helping defend
Fajardo and rocking the ring with some slamma jammas a couple of times. If he can
be consistent with this kind of performance, then it will surely tilt the
chances in ROS’s favor even more.
In last night’s match, Ginebra
blew out San Mig Super Coffee, 93-64. How about some awesome defense from the
top-seeded Kings against the number one defensive team in the entire league?
Ginebra held the Mixers to a tie for their season-low in points (SMC also
scored 64 in a December 11 loss to Meralco), and their worst losing margin so
far in the conference. The Kings utilized a suffocating 2-3 zone to limit the Mixers
to under 34% FG shooting. Starters PJ Simon, James Yap, Mark Barroca, and Joe
Devance combined to shoot 16/45 from the floor.
Aside from shooting
terribly, coach Tim Cone’s wards also lost the battle on the boards — and
badly, too! Ginebra utilized its size advantage to the hilt, outrebounding SMC,
55-32. Nobody on the San Mig quintet grabbed more than 5 rebounds, and that was
James Yap! Usual reliables Marc Pingris, Yancy De Ocampo, Rafi Reavis, and Joe
Devance totaled only 11 rebounds. That’s four guys standing 6’5 or taller being
outrebounded by rookie Greg Slaughter, who collared 12 boards.
Speaking of Greg, the top
overall pick in the 2013 PBA Draft had one of his best outings of the season so
far, dropping 21 points on 8/11 FG shooting on top of the aforementioned dozen
caroms, 1 assist, and 1 block. He scored 15 markers in the first half alone,
helping Ginebra to a commanding 16-point bulge at the break. Needless to say,
the Mixers could never recover from that. Slaughter’s awesome play made up for
the subpar production of frontline partner Japeth Aguilar, whose 7-point,
4-rebound line was his worst since recording just 6 points and 5 rebounds
against TNT last January 19, 2014.
Game Recaps:
RAIN OR SHINE over PETRON BLAZE, 103-94
The Petron Blaze Boosters
tried to play the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ run-and-gun game and for three
quarters, it worked.
In the end, however, the
Elasto Painters’ superior depth won out for a 103-94 victory on Wednesday at
Mall of Asia Arena.
“We just carved up a hard
win today,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. “For a while, I thought it was
a lost game, but the guys did not give up.”
The win gave Rain or Shine
a commanding 2-0 lead in their PLDT Home DSL Philippine Cup semifinals.
The Elasto Painters bucked
a strong start from Petron, which led by as much as 16 points, 34-18, in the
first half. Rain or Shine fought back to close the first half within striking
distance, 49-46.
But Petron took control
once again in the third period. Alex Cabagnot led the charge, scoring eight
points in a 14-4 run for a 63-50 spread.
The Boosters were still
ahead, 85-72, before Jeff Chan nailed back-to-back three-pointers to cut the
deficit. That touched off a furious 23-6 run capped by free throws from Gabe
Norwood to give Rain or Shine a 95-91 edge with just 3:05 left.
Petron completely fell
apart in the endgame as the Elasto Painters hit basket after timely basket,
before rookie Raymond Almazan capped the win with a breakaway dunk in the dying
seconds.
Chan led Rain or Shine
with 20 points while Almazan and Paul Lee chipped in 15 apiece.
June Mar Fajardo had 20
points, but was visibly frustrated by the Rain or Shine defense, even getting a
technical foul in the fourth quarter.
“They were trying to play
physical, and June Mar really is the focal point of their offense, and we have
to play physical ourselves,” said Guiao, who noted that the Elasato Painters
got the raw end of the officiating.
“We didn’t get the refs’
calls. For the most part, I felt that Petron escaped with a lot of physical
contact.”
Guiao warned his team
against getting overconfident against a Petron side that remains dangerous.
“2-0 is a good place to be
at this point, but we can’t celebrate. We need two more,” said Guiao.
ROS 103 – Chan 20, Almazan 15, Lee 15, Belga 11, Norwood 11, Arana 8, Tang 5,
Quinahan 4, Cruz 4, Nuyles 4, Rodriguez 4, Teng 2, Tiu 0, Ibanes 0.
PET 94 – Fajardo 20, Cabagnot 17, Lassiter 14, Santos 12, Lutz 7, Kramer 6,
Hubalde 6, Ross 6, Tubid 4, Taha 2.
QS: 18-32, 46-49, 67-78, 103-94
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| Alex Cabagnot lets Gabe Norwood go past him with this fly-by. |
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| Gilas teammates Beau Belga and June Mar Fajardo engage in this heated moment from Game 2. |
GINEBRA over SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE, 93-64
Barangay Ginebra San
Miguel used a suffocating zone defense to cruise to a surprisingly easy 93-64
victory over the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers on Friday at SMART-Araneta
Coliseum.
The Gin Kings pounced on a
lackluster effort by the Mixers to tie their Manila Clasico semifinals series
in the PLDT Home DSL Philippine Cup at 1-all.
“Adjustment namin defense
namin, start namin maganda,” said Ginebra coach Ato Agustin. “We were able to
limit their offense (to just) 60-plus.”
Greg Slaughter dominated
with 15 of his 21 points in the first half. But it was on the defensive end
where Ginebra made hay, springing a 2-3 zone that shackled the San Mig Coffee
offense for a 48-32 lead at the half.
Instead of letting up,
Ginebra opened the third quarter on fire, scoring the first five points of the
second half to open up a 21-point edge. The Gin Kings fended off numerous
fightback attempts by San Mig Coffee, led by stars James Yap, Peter June Simon,
and Marc Pingris.
The Mixers couldn’t
sustain the run with their second unit, allowing the Gin Kings to take a 69-53
lead heading into the fourth period. Ginebra put the final nail on the coffin
with an 8-0 run, and nursed the lead the rest of the way.
Slaughter finished with 21
points and 12 rebounds. Jayjay Helterbrand and Billy Mamaril provided offensive
boosts off the bench for the Gin Kings, chipping in 11 and 10 points,
respectively.
LA Tenorio added 10 points
and eight assists for Ginebra, winning his matchup with San Mig Coffee point
guard Mark Barroca, who struggled for the second straight game with just seven
points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field.
Simon led the Mixers with
16 points, Pingris added 15, while Yap finished with 14.
Game Three is set on
Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena at 5 p.m. Agustin said he expects San Mig Coffee
counterpart Tim Cone to go back to the drawing board.
“San Mig will adjust sa
zone defense namin. Kelangan ma-anticipate namin yung gagawin nila,” said
Agustin.
GIN 93 – Slaughter 21, Helterbrand 11, Tenorio 10, Mamaril 10, Reyes 8,
Caguioa 8, Aguilar 7, Monfort 5, Ellis 4, Faundo 4, Baracael 3, Forrester 2,
Ababou 0.
SMC 64 – Simon 16, Pingris 15, Yap 14, Barroca 7, De Ocampo 3, Acuna 3,
Mallari 3, Devance 2, Cawaling 1, Gaco 0, Sangalang 0, Melton 0, Holstein 0,
Reavis 0.
QS: 24-19, 48-32, 69-53, 93-64
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| More than 19,000 fans trooped to the Big Dome to witness the Kings' blowout win over the Mixers. |
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| Pint-sized Emman Monfort was a huge spark for Ginebra. |
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| Greg Slaughter was unstoppable in Game 2. |
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| Isaac Holstein gets some burn in the second half after the Kings established an insurmountable lead. |
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 Sports 5.
(Photo credit to Paul Ryan Tan and Paolo Papa)
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