Manila—Peter June Simon sizzled with a career-high 42 points as Derby Ace downed Air21, 102-97, last night and posted its first winning streak in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Simon was a perfect 11-of-11 from the two-point zone, hit 2 of 4 triples and made all but four of 18 free throws as the defending champion Llamados rose to 3-5 overall and left the cellar, which they occupied since the start of the season.
“He’s been playing well this conference and I hope he continues to do so,” said coach Jorge Gallent of Simon, who was picked 43rd overall by defunct Sta. Lucia in 2001, briefly played in the MBA, before joining Purefoods in 2005.
Simon’s three free throws in the last 11 seconds capped the highest scoring game by a local since Sol Mercado’s 45 last June 11 for Rain or Shine.
Air21, now also at 3-5, drew a career-high 25 points from rookie Rabeh Al-Hussaini.
In the second game, Alaska snapped out of a four-game losing spell by blasting Powerade to bits, 96-67, to improve to 4-4. The Tigers took a second straight loss for a 3-5 card.
After trailing by as many as 13 points in the first quarter, the Llamados finally took the lead at halftime, 48-46. They took a 10-point lead in the third period before the Express made a run in the closing canto behind the 6-foot-7 Al-Hussaini. Photo by purefoodsbasketball.com
The scores:
First Game
DERBY ACE 102—Simon 42, Yap J. 16, Maierhofer 9, Yap R. 9, Salvador 8, Gaco 7, Villanueva 7, Adducul 4, Allado 0.
AIR21 97—Al-Husseini 25, Buenafe 14, Gonzales 12, Arboleda 12, Baclao 11, Urbiztondo 10, Matias 6, Quinahan 4, Rodriguez 3, Guevarra 0, Sharma 0.
Quarters: 16-27, 48-46, 75-70, 102-97
Second Game
ALASKA 96—Baguio 17, De Vance 16, Tenorio 15, Custodio 11, Eman 8, Thoss 8, Borboran 7, Dela Cruz 7, Hugnatan 5, Espiritu 2.
POWERADE 67—Reyes 12, Ritualo 12, Calimag 10, David 9, Reyes J. 7, Rizada 7, Lanete 6, Antonio 4, Enrile 0, Macapagal 0, Laure 0, Espino 0, Gonzales 0.
Quarters: 30-14, 56-29, 79-43, 96-67