Petron holds off B-Meg; Powerade bucks top pick’s absence, whips Shopinas
MANILA, Philippines—In a game between two powerhouse offensive squads that took a defensive turn, Petron Blaze shut down B-Meg when it had to for a 73-69 victory Wednesday night in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Baskets came hard for both squads, until Alex Cabagnot cut loose in the final 3:20 by scoring seven of the Boosters’ final nine points, including the go-ahead triple that eventually ushered Petron to a share of the early lead with Rain or Shine and Powerade.
It was a sour debut for multi-titled coach Tim Cone on the B-Meg bench as his highly-touted lineup struggled against the tight Petron defense, which held two-time MVP James Yap and returning superstar Kerby Raymundo to just 10 points each.
“We had to take advantage of the fact that they are new to the system (of Tim Cone),” Petron coach Ato Agustin told reporters in Filipino. “It was a tough win against a powerhouse team like B-Meg.”
The Boosters actually picked up from where they left off—humbling a favored squad—as Petron didn’t show any trace of a championship hangover after denying Talk ‘N Text a Grand Slam in the last Governors’ Cup Finals.
Chris Lutz was another rookie that shone after three days of play, leading the Boosters in scoring with 19 points, 10 of them coming in the nip-and-tuck third period.
Cabagnot, who hit a three with 3:20 left that put Petron ahead to stay, 66-64, finished with 17 markers and Arwind Santos scattered 11 that went with a night-high 19 rebounds. Peter June Simon led the Llamados with 21 points.
After a surreal start, a Powerade crew that missed this season’s top overall Draft pick steadied itself in the crunch to nip Shopinas.com, 98-87 in the first game to get its campaign started on the right foot.
Breaking out of the gates with all guns firing, the Tigers zoomed to as much as a 24-point lead early in the second period only to spend the rest of the contest trying to hold off a gallant fightback by the Clickers.
Gary David scored 31 points, Celino Cruz added 15 and No. 3 Draft pick Marcio Lassiter had 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 30-minute debut that helped the Tigers a great deal.
“I’m happy that we won, but I am definitely not satisfied with the way we played defense,” coach Bo Perasol said, referring to the near-meltdown that started just after his squad had taken a 40-16 lead after their first offensive play in the second period.
JV Casio, the No. 1 rookie pick, watched the game in civilian clothes on the bench because of an injured knee. He is expected to play his first pro game in about the third or fourth Powerade game.
“Defensively, I think we could have limited Shopinas more,” Perasol continued. “As I was telling my players, Shopinas is a new team and if we are going to struggle against them, we will also do so against the stronger teams.”
Lassiter, the former Smart-Gilas standout, is being groomed to be the defensive anchor of the Tigers and Perasol is hopeful that his attitude towards playing hard on the defensive end would rub off on the rest of the team.
“We need a little more time to spend with Marcio,” Perasol said of Lassiter, who had the benefit of just two complete practice sessions with the squad after completing his tour of duty with the National team.“He will be a big part of our team.”
“Finally, it felt good to be out there,” Lassiter said. “I am still getting used to the offense and just tried try to play 110 percent and help the team out. We did a good job playing defense in the first quarter.”
David, last season’s scoring champion, scored 23 of his total in 20 minutes of action in the first half, including 12 in the opening period, which the Tigers closed out with a 37-16 lead.
Powerade actually led by as many as 24 points, 40-16, only to see the Clickers come to within three, 60-63, midway in the third quarter after a wide-open three-pointer by former Santo Tomas ace Kazim Mirza.
Ren-Ren Ritualo, the long-forgotten three-point specialist, paced the Clickers with 19 points, with rookie James Sena and Jojo Duncil adding 15 and 11 markers, respectively.
But what did the Clickers in was the complete lack of a big time go-to-guy, or a man willing to take a risk offensively other than Ritualo.
The scores:
First Game
POWERADE 98—David 31, Cruz 15, Vanlandingham 14, Lassiter 10, Antonio 8, Lingganay 6, Kramer 6, Anthony 4, Calimag 4, Adducul 0.
SHOPINAS.COM 87—Ritualo 19, Sena 15, Duncil 11, Mirza 9, Sison 8, Hermida 7, Espiritu 6, Jazul 6, Menor 6, Canlas 0, Canta 0, Se 0.
Quarters: 37-16, 55-42, 79-71, 98-87
Second Game
PETRON 73—Lutz 19, Cabagnot 17, Santos 11, Miranda 8, Sharma 6, Ildefonso 5, Guevarra 3, Agustin 2, Yeo 2, Baclao 0, Hontiveros 0.
B-MEG 69—Simon 21, Yap J. 10, Raymundo 10, Devance 9, Yap R. 9, Ferriols 4, Barroca 2, Reavis 2, Maierhofer 1, Pingris 1, Urbiztondo 0.
Quarters: 13-22, 36-38, 58-54, 73-69, 73-69
