Maliksi lifts Hotshots past Texters

ALLEIN Maliksi carried Star through tough times in the second quarter and then in the stretch as the Hotshots downed Tropang TNT, 96-88, yesterday in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Maliksi fired a new PBA career high of 29 points with his 6-for-6 clip from beyond the arc, putting him in a seven-man tie for successful hits from that area all-time.

His 18 points in the second quarter helped Star rally from an 18-point deficit, and his final 11 saved the Hotshots from what could have been their worst six-game start in an import-spiced conference in the last 25 years.

“Allein has just been solid. He kept us alive in the first half. He just shot the lights out,” said Star coach Jason Webb, who needed to find a quick replacement for original import Denzel Bowles, who had to fly back to the United States to attend the funeral of a godfather.

Bowles’ replacement, Ricardo Ratcliffe, finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in a respectable debut considering that he arrived only on Saturday afternoon.

The defending champion Texters, who got 18 points from Jason Castro, dropped to a 2-4 card.

JUSTIN Melton of Star Hotshots slips past TNT import David Simon for a layup in last night’s game at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

In the first game, Blackwater pinned a third straight loss on GlobalPort after import MJ Rhett scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Mike Cortez chipped in 22 that went with seven assists in leading the Elite to a 115-103 victory.

Rookie Art dela Cruz tossed in 16 points and two others were in twin digits for Blackwater, which rose to a level 3-3 card. The Batang Pier dropped to 2-4 as Stanley Pringle continued to watch from the bench for the third consecutive game because of an ankle injury.

Calvin Warner paced GlobalPort with 26 points and Terrence Romeo had 17, 14 of them coming in the first half before suffering a strained right calf in the second period.

The scores:

First Game

BLACKWATER 115—Rhett 30, Cortez 22, Dela Cruz 16, Cervantes 13, Lastimosa 12, Gamalinda 9, Reyes 7, Bulawan 2, Erram 2, Tiongson 2, Sena 0.

GLOBALPORT 103—Warner 26, Romeo 17, Uyloan 15, Jensen 12, Taha 12, Kramer 8, Semerad 7, Mamaril 5, Washington 1, Fortuna 0, Maierhofer 0.

Quarters: 27-27, 62-51, 87-79, 115-103

Second Game

STAR 96—Maliksi 29, Ratliffe 23, Yap 10, Melton 8, Barroca 6, Pascual J. 6, Pingris 6, Pascual R. 3, Simon 3, Reavis 2, Sanggalang 0, Taha 0.

TROPANG TNT 88—Castro 18, De Ocampo 15, Simon 12, Ababou 11, Tautuaa 11, Fonacier 6, Rosser 6, Williams 4, Reyes 3, Rosario 2, Aban 0.

Quarters: 13-26, 51-51, 66-73, 96-88