BARAKO Bull was on fire again and San Miguel Beer sustained its sizzling run as both hammered separate rock-solid foes last night to practically advance to the quarterfinals of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
The Energy bounced back from their first loss of the conference by turning back Rain or Shine, 112-103, before the Beermen won a fifth straight game by manhandling Barangay Ginebra in the second half for a 100-85 victory at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Liam McMorrow scored 32 points on top of 25 rebounds and RR Garcia tossed in a career-high 26 for the Energy, who reclaimed top spot at 5-1 and, like the Beermen, will be shooting for wins for better playoff positions the rest of the elimination round.
BARAKO Bull import Liam Paul McMorrow (top) beats Rain or Shine’s Wendell McKines to the rebound in last night’s game. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Joseph Yeo added 19 points and formed a two-pronged Barako battering ram from the perimeter with Garcia. The steady fire from outside opened up the inside for the 7-foot-2 McMorrow, who clearly had no match in the Rain or Shine lineup.
The Beermen spoiled the return of Ginebra slotman Greg Slaughter and made the Gin Kings look bad in the second half as they broke away from a 41-40 count at halftime and extended the conference’s longest winning streak to five games.
San Miguel rose to 5-2 overall while dealing the Gin Kings their fourth loss in six games, putting Ginebra in a situation where it could also miss the top four.
“The players are showing that they have character,” Barako Bull coach Koy Banal told reporters after dropping the Elasto Painters to 1-4 overall.
“I reminded them at halftime that if there’s a team that knows how to play this game the right way, it is Rain or Shine,” Banal added. “And to beat this team, we have to play the right way as well.”
Arizona Reid scored 27 points and June Mar Fajardo had 10 and 20 rebounds for the Beermen, who found a new hero in point guard Chris Ross, who missed a triple double by an assist and a rebound after firing 16 points.
“The biggest factor [for us in this game] was Chris Ross,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria said. “I think this is the best performance of his PBA career.”
The scores:
First Game
BARAKO 112—McMorrow 32, Garcia 26, Yeo 19, Ababou 10, Lastimosa 8, Chua 7, Pascual 6, Lanete 2, Wilson 2, Intal 0, Hubalde 0, Maierhofer 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 103—McKines 41, Lee 21, Tiu 7, Uyloan 6, Norwood 6, Almazan 6, Cruz Jericho 5, Arana 3, Ibanes 2, Chan 2, Belga 2, Quinahan 2, Tang 0, Cruz Jervy 0.
Quarters: 18-27, 52-48, 80-73, 112-103
Second Game
SAN MIGUEL 100—Reid 27, Ross 19, Lassiter 13, Santos 11, Fajardo 10, Cabagnot 8, Lutz 5, Espinas 4, Tubid 3, Reyes 0.
GINEBRA 85—Johnson 22, Urbiztondo 20, Aguilar 16, Slaughter 6, Caguioa 6, Mercado 5, Brondial 4, Tenorio 3, Monfort 3, Pena 0, Marcelo 0, Helterbrand 0.
Quarters: 22-19, 41-40, 71-62, 100-85