Beermen seize Philippine Cup lead
MANILA—Jay Washington had 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, three blocks and a few words of warning for his team as San Miguel Beer turned back Meralco, 86-77, Wednesday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. The Beermen notched their sixth win in seven outings to take a half game lead against fellow powerhouse Talk ‘N Text in the race for the top of the standings, but Washington said they detoured to a tougher path to get there after starting off in cruise control. “That’s our thing right now, we have trouble putting teams away,” said Washington after the game. “We shouldn’t have been in that position.” The talented forward was referring to the fact that San Miguel Beer had erected huge leads, the largest at 20, against a team that was missing its best scorer but eased up on the gas pedal, allowing the Bolts to move to within six under the final two minutes of the match. “We should’ve been up 30 against this team, but when we get big leads, we tend to relax,” Washington said. “We got a long way to go and we really need to learn to stay focused on the game.” Meralco slipped to 2-5 after sitting out injured scorer Macmac Cardona. “We just took advantage that they didn’t have Macmac,” said San Miguel coach Ato Agustin, who stayed unbeaten since taking over the Beermen two games into the conference. “We’re jelling well as a team unlike in the first two games of the conference.” Meanwhile, Ronjay Buenafe buried a personal season-high 28 points, including 17 in the second half, as Air21 shrugged off a listless start to rally past Powerade, 102-95, in the first game. Buenafe presided over a torrid attack in the fourth period that enabled the Express to nail their third win in six games and gain a share of fourth with idle Alaska. The former Emilio Aguinaldo College standout delivered the telling blows after the Tigers took a 95-93 edge in the last two minutes. The Express shot just 25 percent from the field in the first half and coach Yeng Guiao said only their defense kept them in the game. “We labored on defense until our shots went in,” said Guiao, after the Express bounced back form 79-89 defeat to Barako Bull. “I thought we already lost the game. But they (Tigers) relaxed in the third quarter and gave us some breathing room. It was an ugly game for us. Certainly, this is not the way we want to win games but we’ll take it.”
Finding himself one-on-one against Dennis Espino on the fastbreak after his steal, Buenafe buried a floater with a minute remaining then forced another turnover on Chico Lanete on the next play. Left free by a Rabeh Al-Hussaini pick, Buenafe drilled a dagger of a triple remaining to extend the lead to 100-95 time down to 35 seconds. “I admit we got a little lucky (with the win),” said Guiao, whose squad forced 25 turnovers that led to 23 points. Guiao said he is happy where his team lies right now in the standings. “For a young team like ours, to be at 3-3, we’re pretty much we’re we thought we would be,” he said. “We can still get better.” Meanwhile, Meralco has made a move to acquire undrafted rookie Hans Thiele from Barako Bull in exchange for Dennis Daa. The trade, however, still needs the approval of league commissioner Chito Salud. The scores:
First Game
AIR21 102—Buenafe 28, Quinahan 19, Gonzales 10, Matias 9, Al-Hussaini 7, Najorda 7, Baclao 6, Urbiztondo 4, Sharma 4, Arboleda 4, Guevarra 2, Rodriguez 2.
POWERADE 95—David 28, Gonzales 16, Macapagal 12, Espino 9, R. Reyes 7, Lanete 6, Laure 6, Ritualo 6, Rizada 3, Calimag 2, J. Reyes 0, Allera 0, Enrile 0.
Quarters: 11-17, 41-47, 68-71, 102-95
Second Game
SAN MIGUEL BEER 86—Washington 20, Santos 19, Yeo 11, Cabagnot 11, Hontiveros 8, Seigle 8, Ildefonso 4, Pennisi 3, Pena 2, Miranda 0, Artadi 0, Racela 0.
MERALCO 77—Espinas 16, Ross 14, Omolon 11, Gamalinda 8, Taulava 8, Belga 6, Aljamal 6, Weinstein 2, Menor 2, Escobal 2, Aquino 2.
Quarters: 22-15, 46-31, 69-52, 86-77
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