Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Star continued to roll while GlobalPort kept sinking.
The Hotshots disposed of shorthanded Batang Pier, 127-100, for their first three-game winning streak under rookie head coach Jason Webb in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday night at Mall of Asia Arena.
Ricardo Ratliffe had 28 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field that went with 13 rebounds and three blocks while Allein Maliksi led all locals in scoring with 21 as Star evened its win-loss record to 4-4.
“I think when we saw the first few plays. We had a feeling we’re going to play well,” said Star head coach Jason Webb.
GlobalPort, which played without its two best locals in Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle for the second game in a row, reeled to its fourth consecutive setback.
The Hotshots trailed for only the first 42 seconds of the game before going on a 24-6 surge.
A triple by Maliksi to end the first half pushed his team’s lead to 21 and with GlobalPort missing Romeo and Pringle, who combine for 40.1 points per game, the Batang Pier didn’t have enough firepower to come back despite Shawn Taggart’s game-high 37 points.
“The defense. It’s always been defense. The players just played tremendous defense the entire game,” said Webb.
Star held GlobalPort to just 36% shooting while making 56% of its shots. The Hotshots had six players in double-digits with Mark Barroca adding 16, PJ Simon contributing 13 while James Yap and Marc Pingris getting 12 and 10 points, respectively.