CLIFF Hodge of Meralco splits the defense of RJ Jazul and Dondon Hontiveros of Alaska in last night’s match. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
MANILA, Philippines — Arwind Santos was a dominant second half force for Petron and led the Boosters to a come-from-behind 98-87 victory over Globalport that bolstered their twice-to-beat chances in the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup playoffs at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Alex Cabagnot completed his first career triple-double and was the second hero for the Boosters, who rose to 9-3 overall—half a game behind leading Barangay Ginebra—while slapping a fifth straight loss on the Batang Pier, who are now at 4-8.
Santos, the reigning MVP, scored 19 of his 25 points in the final two quarters and Cabagnot had 13 assists, 11 rebounds and 10 points as the Boosters moved slightly up the standings against idle Rain or Shine.
The Boosters and the Elasto Painters are tipped to vie for No. 2—and the second twice-to-beat privilege—with Rain or Shine taking the floor today opposite defending champion Talk ‘N Text at Mall of Asia Arena.
“Nothing is sure yet, but our record favors us,” Petron coach Gee Abanilla told reporters.
In the first game, Gary David made mincemeat of Calvin Abueva’s defense—and his antics—in the second half Friday night and Jared Dillinger shone defensively for Meralco in a 74-65 decision of Alaska.
David scored 17 of his 24 points off Abueva in the second half while Dillinger was the defensive anchor that held Meralco together in the stretch as the Bolts moved inside the top six of the standings while shoving the Aces’ backs against the wall.
The win was the fifth in 12 games for Meralco, which is now tied for fifth spot with idle Barako Bull, while the Aces dropped to solo ninth spot at 4-8 and out of the magic circle of eight teams that will advance after this round.
Both teams played aggressively in fighting for survival and matters almost got out of hand when Abueva drilled Dillinger with a hand to the face while trying to stop a layup early in the fourth quarter.
The commotion didn’t end there as Abueva pinned Dillinger to the rails with the Meralco guard, his nose bloodied, reacting by pushing down last year’s top rookie against the baseline railing.
“I told them at the start of the game to be ready for war. It’s not going to be easy against Alaska because they are also fighting for survival,” Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio said.
Dillinger finished with just 10 points and seven rebounds, but his two blocks for the night both against Cyrus Baguio prevented Alaska from chopping down an imposing 15-point deficit to as little as seven.
During the incident that Gregorio described as the “JD-Abueva flop altercation,” the Meralco coach bared hearing something from Alaska counterpart Luigi Trillo.
“It was just the heat of the moment. We’re both gentlemen, we’re both adults,” Gregorio said. “It’s not a good example to the youth. But I shook his hand after the game.”