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| Leroy Hickerson (left) leads GlobalPort to win #1, while June Mar Fajardo (right) dominates the Elasto-Painters. |
First Game:
With the locals stepping up to aid prolific import Leroy Hickerson, the GlobalPort Batang Pier notched their first win of the Govs’ Cup at the expense of the Alaska Aces, 95-91. Hickerson dominated on both ends, shooting 9/17 from the field on his way to a game-high 25 points. The returning PBA import from the University of Cumberlands also grabbed11 rebounds, got 4 steals, dished out 3 assists, and had 1 block in a terrific all-around performance.
Alaska actually shot better from the field, had more rebounds, and had more assists in this game, so what gives? How’d they manage to lose against a team that won just one game in the Commish Cup? Well, blame it on two things — turnovers and bad transition defense. The Aces coughed the ball up 19 times, which resulted in 25 points-off-turnovers for GlobalPort. Also, the Alaska was not able to contain GlobalPort's transition game here. Coach Pido Jarencio's wards ended up scoring 20 fastbreak points as opposed to just 3 for the Aces.
Return of the Rook: Terrence Romeo, he of the wild hair and even wilder shooting, returned to action for GlobalPort and made an immediate impact. The former FEU Tamaraw still missed more than he made, but his 18-point total is nothing to scoff at. He started alongside Alex Cabagnot in the backcourt and the pair wasted no time getting down to work. Romeo also added 2 rebounds and 3 steals, while Cabaggie shot 7/13 from the floor to finish with 24 markers.
Second Game:
The Best: June Mar Fajardo is still probably smarting from the quarterfinal defeat of the Beermen in the previous conference, but he showed no signs of lingering frustration here. The Kracken cracked the Elasto-Painters open, dropping 28 points on 9/17 FG shooting to lead SMB to the W, 97-92. Fajardo also had a game-high 18 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block to underscore his singularly dominant form. If he can keep this up for the rest of the Govs’ Cup, he might be another strong candidate for Best Player of the Conference and maybe even the season’s MVP.
Sol Mercado started this game for the Beermen, but his presence was hardly felt. In 14 minutes of action, the Sol Train missed 2 field goals, had 0 boards, 3 assists, and the same number of turnovers. Oh, and did I mention he also committed 4 fouls? 4 fouls in 14 minutes — now that’ll make any coach’s head shake. It was a good thing for SMB, then, that Chris Ross stepped up off the bench. Ross scored only 4 point,s but he hauled down 11 boards, handed out 5 dimes, and got 5 steals. Now that is how one makes his presence felt.
Severe Depletion: Arizona Reid tried his darnedest to rally Rain or Shine in this match, but the Painters’ depleted roster just couldn’t get over the hump against a deep SMB crew. Reid’s 27-point, 18-rebound effort just wasn’t enough to tow the Painters to a win, what with JR Quiñahan still in sick bay and Jervy Cruz not 100%. Can the Painters climb out of this 0-2 hole they’re presently in? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Game recaps by Rey Joble/InterAKTV:
GLOBALPORT over ALASKA, 95-91
This conference, the GlobalPort Batang Pier did not wait until the end of the eliminations to grab their first victory.
They broke into the PLDT Home Telpad Governors’ Cup win column in just their second game with a 95-91 victory over the Alaska Aces on Friday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“I give credit to the boys, especially mga beteranong players namin, talagang gusto nila manalo,” said GlobalPort coach Pido Jarencio.
With that, the Batang Pier already matched their win total last conference, when they finished 1-8.
Import LeRoy Hickerson once again had a solid offensive performance with 25 points to lead GlobalPort. Unlike in their opening loss to Ginebra, he got plenty of support from his local teammates with Alex Cabagnot, Jay Washington, and returning rookie Terrence Romeo putting up solid scoring numbers.
The Batang Pier took control in the first half before leading by as many as 17 points in the third quarter. The Aces chipped away at the deficit, coming within just four points, 77-73, midway through the fourth period.
But Washington answered right back with a three-pointer of his own, sparking a quick 8-0 run that pushed the lead back to 12 points, 85-73.
GlobalPort was still ahead, 93-84, after two free throws from Terrence Romeo. But the Batang Pier got a big scare after Calvin Abueva scored, stole the ball, and scored again to push Alaska within five points, 93-88.
After Romeo split his free throws, Alaska import Henry Walker knocked down a long three-pointer with 11.8 seconds left as the Aces came within a single possession, 94-91.
The Aces caught a break after Washington missed two free throws with 8.8 seconds, but Hickerson got the offensive rebound over Walker to keep possession.
Cabagnot then split his own charity shots to give GlobalPort a two-possession lead, 95-91, to ice the game.
“Ngayon naging consistent kami all the way, nag-miss lang kami ng free throws,” said Jarencio.
“Good start ‘to para sa amin, may game ulit ng Sunday, meron pang seven games.”
GLO 95 – Hickerson 25, Cabagnot 24, Romeo 18, Washington 13, Garcia 8, Ponferada 4, Macapagal 2, Matias 1, Taha 0, Menk 0, Hayes 0, Salvador 0.
ALA 91 – Walker 22, Casio 16, Espinas 14, Abueva 14, Baguio 8, Jazul 6, Hontiveros 5, Manuel 4, Thoss 2.
QS: 24-22, 48-34, 66-62, 95-91
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| Alex Cabagnot sizes up the defense of JV Casio. |
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| Gabby Espinas goes baseline against Leroy Hickerson. |
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| Leroy Hickerson throttles past Sonny Thoss in transition. |
SAN MIGUEL BEER over RAIN OR SHINE, 97-92
Star center June Mar Fajardo led San Miguel Beer to their first win in the PLDT Home Telpad Governors’ Cup, a tough 97-92 encounter over Rain or Shine at SMART-Araneta Coliseum on Friday.
Fajardo scored 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, dominating a depleted Rain or Shine frontline as the Beermen improved their win-loss record to 1-1.
He was huge in the fourth period, when he scored 12 points to give San Miguel Beer the distance it needed to turn back the Elasto Painters.
But Fajardo had plenty of support. With San Miguel Beer up by just a single point, import Reggie Williams scored a crucial three-pointer that pushed the lead to four points, 91-87.
Chris Ross followed that up with a tough spin move for a layup that gave the Beermen a 93-87 edge.
The Elasto Painters had several chances to move closer, but couldn’t execute down the stretch.
Williams, who had 42 points in his debut against Alaska, led all scorers with 29 along with 13 rebounds.
Ross also had a brilliant all-around game, finishing with four points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and five steals in just 26 minutes of action.
Import Arizona Reid had 27 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, and two steals to lead Rain or Shine, which suffered its second straight loss to open the tournament.
SMB 97 – Williams 29, Fajardo 28, Santos 10, Lassiter 8, Maierhofer 7, Tubid 5, Ross 4, Lutz 4, Chua 2, Lanete 0, Kramer 0, Mercado 0.
ROS 92 – Reid 27, Lee 13, Tiu 11, Almazan 9, Chan 9, Rodriguez 8, Norwood 5, Uyloan 3, Cruz 2, Arana 2, Ibanes 2, Nuyles 1, Belga 0.
QS: 21-11, 44-42, 66-68, 97-92
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| June Mar Fajardo goes for the baby hook over Beau Belga. (image by Nuki Sabio/PBA) |
Unless otherwise specified, all images are by Paul Ryan Tan/Sports 5.
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