AIR21 import Graham Zachary goes up for a shot against Globalport’s Jay Washington. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Markeith Cummings scored 37 points and had 11 rebounds and rookie Jaypee Belencion scattered 14 points in the absence of Gary David as Globalport clipped Air21, 101-94, in last night’s start of the PBA Governors’ Cup at Mall of Asia Arena.
The 24-year-old Cummings missed just six of 20 shots from the field and played all but seven minutes in a performance which coach Junnel Baculi said would certainly make the other teams prepare for him in the future.
This marks the second straight conference that the Batang Pier opened up with a win. In the last Commissioner’s Cup, Globalport won its first game and went 2-1 before eventually finishing at the cellar with a 2-12 record.
The Globalport franchise won just three games in its first season in the league, but the acquisition of Cummings and the arrival of Jay Washington from a trade with Petron Blaze have certainly made things look brighter for the Batang Pier.
“I like this team because of the effort that the guys put in,” Washington, the 6-foot-7 forward, said after shooting 15 points that went with nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block. “I just think that we have to do a better job at closing out quarters. We had bonehead mistakes out there and better teams will take advantage of those mistakes.”
Globalport was in command all night, even building a 47-30 lead with 5:46 remaining in the second period after one of four triples by Belencion.
The Express were able to prune that down to seven in the fourth, only for the Batang Pier to drop an 11-2 bomb to seal the outcome.
The scores:
First Game
GLOBALPORT 101—Cummings 37, Washington 15, Belencion 14, Miller 10, Lingganay 8, Mercado 8, Hayes 6, Salvador 2, Yee 1, Buensuceso 0, Taha 0, Nabong 0, Alonzo 0.
AIR21 94—Graham 31, Canaleta 19, Isip 13, Menor 9, Sharma 8, Arboleda 7, Sena 2, Custodio 2, Cortez 2, Omolon 1, Manuel 0.
Quarters: 24-20, 53-42, 78-68, 101-94.