Fiery Hotshots bomb Batang Pier by 53 pts
STAR’S Marqus Blakely takes it hard to the basket off Globalport’s Doug Kramer in last night’s lopsided game at the Big Dome. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
PLAYING a foe armed with a twice-to-beat privilege for the first time in its PBA existence, Star certainly made Globalport look like it doesn’t even belong in the Governors’ Cup playoffs to begin with.
The defending champion Hotshots took the first of two wins they need to make the Final Four, utterly humiliating fourth-ranked Globalport, 126-73, at the start of the quarterfinal round of the season-ending conference at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“If I knew, I would bottle it and sell it for a million bucks to the NBA,” said Star coach Tim Cone, when asked of the strategy they used to make the Batang Pier look like upstarts in such a big stage.
“We came up with a big punch early, and it staggered them.”
The Hotshots opened up a 19-point lead at the end of the first period and then held the Batang Pier to just 35 first-half points—an output which Star beat with its second-quarter production alone of 36—on the way to the ugliest loss for the Globalport franchise.
It was also the most lopsided loss in a playoff game of all-time, something which Globalport would have to live with for a long time.
Star, which led by 61 with under 5 minutes left, will definitely have the momentum going into the rubber match of this quarterfinal pairing tomorrow, also at the Big Dome in Cubao.
“Bottom line is, we’re not playing a 48-minute game,” Cone said. “This is only halftime in our minds. We haven’t achieved anything; we can’t pat ourselves on the back. At this point, a 30-point win is the same as a one-point win.”
Marqus Blakely typified Star’s hot start, shooting 19 of his 23 points in the first half. The game was so one-sided that the former Best Import played just a total of 24 minutes.
Meanwhile, the other two quarterfinal series pitting No. 2 San Miguel Beer against No. 7 Meralco and No. 3 Rain or Shine against sixth-ranked Barako Bull get going today with the Beermen and the Elasto Painters needing to win just once to advance.
Rain or Shine takes the floor first at 3 p.m. against the Energy and the 7-foot Liam McMorrow, with the Painters seeking to extend a six-game winning streak.
The Beermen, who won a season-high eight consecutive games before Alaska stopped them on their tracks in Panabo City two Saturdays ago, battle the undersized Bolts in the 5:15 p.m. contest.
The scores:
First Game
STAR 126—Blakely 23, Barroca 16, Mallari 15, Yap 15, Melton 14, Taha 8, Simon 8, Maliksi 7, Devance 6, Alvarez 3, Gaco 3, Pingris 3, Pennisi 3, Allado 2, Reavis 0.
GLOBALPORT 73—Romeo 18, Famous 16, Caperal 8, Semerad 5, Miranda 5, Krayem 4, Pringle 4, Isip 4, Pinto 2, Hayes 2, Jensen 2, Mamaril 2, Buenafe 1, Taha 0, Kramer 0, Ponferrada 0.
Quarters: 37-18, 73-35, 103-54, 126-73
