Barako Bull rampage zaps Globalport in OT
BARAKO Bull import Evan Brock eludes Globalport’s Japeth Aguilar and Gary David for a slam in yesterday’s game at the Big Dome. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Barako Bull came charging back from 10 points down in the last two minutes of regulation and sustained the rampage in overtime for a 98-88 win that installed the Energy as the unlikely early leaders in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Josh Urbiztondo and Danny Seigle presided over the dizzying closing run as the Energy forced overtime at 86-all before pummeling the Batang Pier in the extension for their second straight win.
Urbiztondo scored 24 points, 11 of them in the fourth period, and Seigle opened the extra period with five straight points that took the fight out of the Batang Pier.
The loss was the first in two games for Globalport, which led, 86-76 after a Gary David layup with two minutes left in regulation.
But the Batang Pier would not score again until the 3:08 mark of the extension, which actually proved to be their only basket in the final seven minutes of the game.
Japeth Aguilar scattered 23 points and had 10 rebounds, Sol Mercado scored 19 that went with a career-high 16 assists and David also had 19 for Globalport.
But the Barako Bull defense shut down the rest of the Batang Pier with import Justin Williams shooting just 12 points while grabbing 27 rebounds, the most by anyone thus far this season.
“It was a miracle that we won this game,” Serbian consultant Rajko Toroman, who celebrated his 58th birthday yesterday, told reporters. Toroman also downplayed Aguilar’s offensive explosion, saying that, in effect, the Energy allowed him to score.
“Our plan before the game was not to give penetrations to Sol Mercado and outside shots to Gary David and Willie Miller,” Toroman said. “We let Japeth shoot the ball. That was part of our strategy before the game.
“For us, it was more important to contain (David, Miller and Mercado).”
Mark Macapagal, already the winner of the All-Star Three-Point shootout title a record three times, forged overtime with his only triple, time down to nine-tenths of a second.
Globalport missed the chance to win it when David missed a triple try.
Seigle shot 16 points, and Toroman was particularly proud of the effort the former Mythical Team member has been turning in.
The scores:
First Game
BARAKO 98—Brock 25, Urbiztondo 24, Villanueva 18, Seigle 16, Maliksi 9, Macapagal 6, Kramer 0, Pennisi 0, Allado 0.
GLOBALPORT 88—Aguilar 23, Mercado 19, David 19, Williams 12, Miller 7, Yee 5, Salvador 3, Deutchman 0, Juntilla 0.
Quarters: 21-19, 35-38, 60-58, 86-86, 98-88
