JAMES YAP drives by TONY DELA CRUZ. Photo by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines—Tim Cone was right: the first game between B-Meg and his former team, Alaska, was all about the players.
More relaxed in their second game under one of the greatest coaches in PBA history, the Llamados Wednesday night outsteadied the Aces in a tight endgame for an 81-75 victory, their first in the Philippine Cup eliminations at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
James Yap matched his first game output in the second quarter alone, and most everyone showed marked improvement under Cone’s tried and tested Triangle Offense as the Llamados rose to 1-1 and kept the Aces winless in two games.
“We were so eager in our first game,” Yap told reporters in Filipino. “And part of being over-eager is getting fatigued. But tonight, we were more relaxed. Having a long break from our first game to this one allowed us to learn the Triangle more.”
Yap fired five points in the first period and hit 10 in the second when the Llamados made a game out of it, clawing back from 15 points down in the opening quarter to creep within two points at halftime.
“I think we were lucky to be down two (points) at the half,” Cone, who coached a total of 1,177 games, won 668 and a total of 13 championships, including a Grand Slam for Alaska in 22 years, said.
“From a team standpoint, I told them to take this as a regular game,” Cone continued. “It didn’t matter who we played tonight. We needed to win. I was pressured, but I didn’t want the players to feel it.
“I had visions of a 35-point blowout (loss),” said Cone, who embraced the entire Alaska coaching staff before the game.
Kerby Raymundo hit a clutch right-handed layup with 20 seconds left for 79-75, and Josh Urbiztondo drained three straight triples when the game was truly on the line earlier to keep the Llamados’ collective heads above water.
Sonny Thoss, once Cone’s most reliable big man at Alaska, paced the Aces with 18 markers, while Jay-R Reyes had 15 points and a night-high 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, with its scoring stars sidelined, Meralco averted a major outage in the first game by playing heads-up defense while getting some role players to step up for a 79-72 decision of Shopinas.com
Asi Taulava was the unlikely finisher in what turned out to be the game-winning play, hitting a fallaway jumper to beat the shotclock with 25.4 seconds left that put the B-Boys’ first win in two games in the books.
The loss was the second straight for the Clickers, who managed to tug at the coattails of the B-Boys who played without offensive machines Mac Cardona and Sol Mercado and Chris Ross and Reynel Hugnatan.
“It’s very hard for us to compete in a level where we are asked to score,” Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio said, referring to his undermanned roster. “We scored just enough points to win.
“In the coming days that Sol and Mac will (still) not be ready, it will still be defense that will be given tremendous emphasis,” Gregorio continued. “It was a great challenge for the players who were inserted into the team to play roles and be superstars in a particular game.”
Gabby Espinas paced Meralco with 16 points and nine rebounds, Mark Macapagal had 14 markers and Mark Isip and Mark Yee combined for 21 more as the B-Boys pulled out the win despite scoring just nine first quarter points.
Paolo Hubalde, who helped Petron bag the last Governors’ Cup and spoil Talk ‘N Text’s Grand Slam bid, scattered 21 points to lead the Clickers, whose next best scorer was the rugged Rogemar Menor, who had nine.
The scores:
Second Game
B-MEG 81 – Yap J.20, Urbiztondo 12, Raymundo 12, Simon 11, De Vance 10, Reavis 8, Pingris 6, Ferriols 2, Barroca 0, Acuna 0, Maierhofer 0, Yap R. 0.
ALASKA 75 – Thoss 18, Reyes 15, Tenorio 11, Baguio 10, Dela Cruz 9, Baracael 4, Custodio 4, Eman 3, Bugia 1, Cablay 0.
Quarters: 9-21, 35-37, 61-56, 81-75.