The 2013-2014 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals continued
in dramatic fashion this weekend, with the Rain or Shine Elasto-Painters
booting the Petron Blaze Boosters out of contention, while the San Mig Super
Coffee Mixers snuck past the Ginebra Gin Kings in Game 5.
This past Friday, Rain or Shine beat Petron Blaza,
97-88, with Beau Belga was in fine form, pumping in 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3
assists, 1 steal, and 2 triples as the Painters finished off the Boosters. This
was Belga’s highest scoring output of the season since dropping 20 markers on
Meralco in late November 2013. Belga was at his very best against fellow Gilas
national pool member June Mar Fajardo, who reeled in a 16-16 double-double.
Belga showed his versatility in hitting from long range and driving to the
hole. His most memorable moment here was in the payoff period, driving past a
Petron double-team before hanging in the air, absorbing contact from Chris
Lutz, and making the basket. And, of course, in classic Beau Belga fashion, he
celebrated with finger guns afterwards.
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| Beau Belga's finger guns. Yes -- finger guns. |
Petron Blaze put up a good fight in Game 5, but in
the end the team that wanted the win more prevailed. Throughout most of the
current conference, it seemed like coach Gee Abanilla’s Boosters were the most
impressive unit, even winning their first seven games before June Mar Fajardo’s
injury contributed to their slide afterwards. During this series, however, the
Boosters looked predictable and disturbingly absent of any sense of urgency.
Petron is arguably the deepest team in the league, but this result further
fuels the sentiment a lot of PBA observers already have — that what Petron
possesses in talent, they lack in heart.
Wingman Trio: Jeff Chan, Paul Lee, and Ryan Araña all
rattled in great games here, outgunning their more ballyhooed counterparts on
the Petron side. That trio combined for 6 triples and 43 points as the Painters
booked their second straight Philippine Cup Finals appearance (they lost to
Talk N Text in 2013). Chan also added a season-high 9 rebounds, while Lee and
Araña each chipped in 3 assists to bolster the cause of Rain or Shine, which
missed the services of coach Yeng Guiao. Guiao was suspended after Game 4 and
was fined PhP 100,000.
In yesterday afternoon’s critical Game 5 encounter, San
Mig Super Coffee overcame Ginebra, 79-76.
Prior to his final field goal attempt of the
ballgame, James Yap missed 12 of his 14 shots from the floor. He had just 7
points along with 3 turnovers. In short, the Man with a Million Moves wasn’t
exactly having a millionaire’s afternoon in Game 5. Yap, however, isn’t a
percentages kind of guy. He likes the big moments, hence his other moniker —
Big Game James. He lived up to it here, nailing the game-winning three-point
shot over Mac Baracael with around 13 seconds left. This made up for his
potentially game-tying miss in Game 4. Big time moments call for big time
players, and, this time, Yap delivered.
When Jay-R Reyes is the only starter to score in
double-digits for your team, that’s a sign that something is amiss. Reyes shot
5/6 from the field to drill in 11 points as he started in place of the
struggling Japeth Aguilar, who finished with 9 markers off the pine. The other Ginebra
starters — Greg Slaughter, LA Tenorio, Mark Caguioa, and Mac Baracael — all
encountered difficulty finding the bottom of the hole here, combining for a total
of just 29 points. Nobody out of the four scored more than 9 points. They shot
a combined 11/42 (26%) from the field. Ugh.
Standing Tall: No one really thinks Rafi Reavis is
among the best big men in the country, but the fact is he is, at least in terms
of numbers, pretty solid. He averages around 5.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in
just 18 minutes of action per game. He shoots 59% from the field and plays
strong defense while averaging just over 2 fouls per game. Again, he’s solid.
In game 5, he shone, too, shooting 5/6 from the field (including a key
undergoal stab in the dying minutes) to finish with 10 points on top of 7 rebounds,
1 steal, and 2 blocks (did you see that clean one against Greg Slaughter late
in the fourth?).
Game Recaps:
RAIN OR
SHINE over PETRON BLAZE, 97-88
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters marched back to the
finals of the PLDT Home DSL Philippine Cup with a 97-88 victory over the Petron
Blaze Boosters in Game Five of their semis series on Friday at SMART-Araneta
Coliseum.
The win, the Elasto Painters’ 12th in their last 13
games, clinched the best-of-seven series for Rain or Shine, 4-1.
Rain or Shine won despite missing coach Yeng Guiao,
who served out a one-game suspension.
Center Beau Belga, who led the way for Rain or Shine
with 18 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, dedicated the game to Guiao.
“Para sa ‘yo to Coach. Mahal ka namin, kaya kami
naglalaro ng ganito,” said Belga.
“The players really wanted to win the game today,”
said Rain or Shine assistant coach Caloy Garcia, who called the shots in lieu
of Guiao.
“The system is the system, kahit sino humawak, credit
still goes to Coach Yeng.”
The fiery coach, who watched from his home in
Pampanga, was in communication with Garcia at halftime.
“Pinaalala ni Coach Yeng mga flaws namin ng first
half. Pinaalala nya to be agressive on defense,” said Garcia.
Petron, fighting to stay alive, controlled the early
part of the game, opening up double-digit leads in the first half. But Rain or
Shine remained poised, staying within striking distance the whole time.
The Boosters were still up by six points, 69-63, late
in the third period, before the Elasto Painters unleashed an 11-0 run to grab
the advantage.
The game remained a nip-and-tuck affair with Petron
still leading, 80-79, on a jumper by June Mar Fajardo.
But Rain or Shine rattled off the next 10 points of
the game to take an 89-80 spread. That proved to be the knockout punch as the
Boosters, overwhelmed by the Elasto Painters’ depth, could not muster enough
energy to put together a rally.
The Elasto Painters will be making their second
consecutive trip to the Philippine Cup finals after getting swept by Talk ‘N
Text last season. They await the winner of the Manila Clasico semifinals series
between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers, which
is currently tied at 2-all.
ROS 97 – Belga 18, Chan 17, Lee 16, Arana 10, Norwood 9,
Rodriguez 8, Cruz 6, Quinahan 5, Tang 4, Almazan 2, Nuyles 2, Tiu 0, Teng 0,
Ibanes 0.
PET 88 – Santos 20, Lassiter 18, Fajardo 16, Kramer 8,
Cabagnot 8, Hubalde 6, Tubid 5, Ross 4, Lutz 2, Taha 1.
QS: 22-31,
45-52, 72-69, 97-88
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| Arwind Santos tried to carry Petron in vain. |
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| Jeff Chan drives past Chris Lutz. |
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| Paul Lee rises for the lay-up. |
SAN MIG
SUPER COFFEE over GINEBRA, 79-76
James Yap hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 13.4
seconds remaining to lift the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers to a thrilling 79-76
victory over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game Five of their PLDT Home DSL
Philippine Cup semifinals series on Saturday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“Manila Clasico, it should come down to the last
possession,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone, who drew up the play for Mark
Barroca to feed Yap for the shot. “Nice pass by Mark, James got the shot.”
The victory gave the Mixers a 3-2 advantage in the
best-of-seven affair. San Mig Coffee can close out the series on Monday also at
the Big Dome, with Rain or Shine waiting in the wings as the first finalist in
the tournament.
It was a tight contest for most of the game, with the
score still tied at 57-all late in the third period. But San Mig Coffee once
again drew a spark from the backcourt combination of Mark Barroca and Justin
Melton, who led a 9-0 attack that gave their team a 66-57 lead.
San Mig Coffee still led, 70-69, before Japeth
Aguilar scored five of the next six points for Ginebra to cut the deficit to a
single point.
Yap replied with a layup for San Mig Coffee, but
Chris Ellis answered right back with a three-pointer for Ginebra to tie the
game at 72-all.
Rafi Reavis scored to give the Mixers back the lead,
before Greg Slaughter hit a putback a couple of plays later to tie the game
anew, 74-all, with 52 seconds remaining.
Marc Pingris drew a foul from Slaughter in the
ensuing possession, but made only one of two free throws for a 75-74 edge with
40 seconds left.
Ellis nailed a fadeaway jumper in Ginebra’s next play
to put the Gin Kings up, 76-75, with 22.9 seconds remaining.
But the Mixers remained poised, perfectly executing
coach Tim Cone’s play to set up Yap’s winning jumper from the left wing. It was
redemption for Yap, who struggled on 3-of-15 shooting from the field.
Ginebra had a chance to tie the game, but LA Tenorio
was well-defended in his layup attempt in the next play.
“Mark played wonderful defense on LA on that
possession,” said Cone.
Justin Melton recovered the miss and was fouled. He
split his free throws for a 79-76 lead with seven seconds left, giving Ginebra
one last shot. But with Ginebra needing a three-point shot, Tenorio took the
ball all the way to the basket, missing another layup to end the game.
“You get caught up in the moment. I wasn’t also sure
if we’re up by two or three,” said Cone in defense of Tenorio, whom he coached
at Alaska. “LA’s one of the smartest players I’ve been around.”
Barroca scored 14 points to lead five San Mig Coffee
players in double-figures.
Ellis finished with 20 points, while Jay-R Reyes
added 11. But no other Ginebra player scored in double-digits. The Gin Kings as
a whole shot just 35.8 percent from the field.
Despite the series advantage, Cone played down any
idea that the series is over.
“It’s just a one-game lead,” said Cone. “This game
doesn’t mean much, but we gotta finish it off.”
SMC 79 – Barroca 14, Pingris 12, Simon 10, Reavis 10, Yap
10, Mallari 8, Devance 7, Sangalang 6, Melton 2.
GIN 76 – Ellis 20, Reyes 11, Aguilar 9, Slaughter 9,
Tenorio 9, Caguioa 6, Baracael 5, Helterbrand 5, Mamaril 2, Monfort 0,
Urbiztondo 0.
QS: 21-21,
46-44, 62-57, 79-76
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| Greg Slaughter struggled anew in Game 5. |
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| This was James Yap's game-winning trey. |
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| LA Tenorio's decision-making in the endgame was put under the microscope. |
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 Nuki Sabio)
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