PBA PHOTO
A change of name didn’t stop them as Star Hotshots fended off a late surge from NLEX, 89-85, to start their PBA Governor’s Cup campaign on Friday evening at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Star Hotshots dropped the “Purefoods” and almost dropped their guard in the end-game but their big-enough lead fended off the Road Warriors who all had their feet on the clutch pedal.
Joe DeVance gave the Hothots a 78-71 lead with 44.0 seconds remaining after hitting a three from the left wing, then the Road Warriors sniffed gas and went bonkers
Kwame Alexander caught fire and hit two three-pointers to cut the Star lead to four, 83-79, with 19.2 seconds left.
DeVance hit a pair of free-throws with 10 seconds remaining to give the Hotshots an 87-82 lead but Jonas Villanueva wanted to cut it even more with his three-point attempt finding the bottom of the net with just seconds remaining to make it 87-85.
Hotshots head coach Tim Cone admitted he was angry with how they handled the end-game as the Road Warriors “hit every three-point shot.”
“I was angry because we were getting a little distracted with the little things and not focusing on the next play,” Cone said. “We played that last one-and-a-half minutes like we won the game.”
Marqus Blakely put an end to the debauchery with a two-handed jam off the break with 1.8 seconds remaining.
Star had a comfortable six-point lead at the two-minute mark of the fourth after Blakely slammed home an emphatic one-hander that gave the Hotshots a 75-69 lead.
Cone said his Big 3 of Peter June Simon, Marc Pingris and James Yap had been struggling and, he thought, had “played too much basketball.”
“I feel like they are getting bored with the game a little bit,” Cone said. “That’s very difficult from a coaching standpoint in getting them involved.”
He added that the longer they were detached from their 2014 Grand Slam, the hungrier they got.
Blakely led the Hotshots with a stat sheet-stuffing of 29 points, 18 rebounds, seven steals, and five blocks.
Alex Mallari came off the bench to add 15 points for the Hotshots.
Alexander led the way for the 0-2 Road Warriors with 25 points and 26 rebounds while Villanueva had 14 points.
NLEX’s Asian import Michael Madanly had a dismal performance of eight points on 2-of-11 shooting.
The scores:
Purefoods 89—Blakely 29, Mallari 15, Barroca 9, Pingris 8, Yap 7, Maliksi 7, Devance 7, Simon 4, Reavis 3, Pennis 0
NLEX 85—Alexander 25; Villanueva 14, Cardona 9, Borboran 8, Madanly 8, Canaleta 6, Taulava 6, E. Villanueva 4, Raymundo 2, Ramos 2, Lingganay 1, Apinan 0
Quarters: 17-13; 41-41; 56-58; 89-85