In-form Barako Bull destroys Powerade; TnT dumps Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines—Barako Bull torched Powerade from start to finish for a franchise-record 117-78 win Sunday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Paul Artadi and Sunday Salvacion joined forces with two-time MVP Willie Miller in building a 16-point edge in the opening minutes that the Energy sustained throughout to ease the pain of a recent blowout dealt by the Alaska Aces.

“We get our points through defense,” said Artadi. “That was the topic we talked about coming into this game.”

“Our shooting, on the other hand, was the result of the pre-game warmup,” added Artadi, who poured seven of his 14 points in the Energy’s opening run.

The Energy, who posted their fifth win in seven outings, even led by 52 points at one point on free throws by rookie Paul Sorongon, 105-52.

It was the biggest winning margin for the franchise in the league, erasing a 34-point victory over Barangay Ginebra in Game 2 of the Fiesta Conference Finals in 2008, when the ballclub was still known as the Air21 Express.

“We always respond well after a big loss,” said Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi. “We didn’t expect a blowout, but I guess we did our homework well.”

Incredibly out of sync was Gary David, who struggled for five points on 1-of-8 shooting after churning out a career-best 42 points in the Tigers’ 108-94 triumph over the Petron Blaze Boosters over a week ago.

That one-week rest put Powerade out of rhythm and cost the Tigers their fourth defeat in seven games.

The two-time scoring king sank his only basket halfway into the second period before the Energy zoomed ahead for a comfortable 62-29 lead.

David, who averaged 22.8 points coming in, made three throws, but it had little impact as the Energy already breached the 40-point lead barrier near the end of the third.

“We’re worried that Gary could explode again,” said Baculi. “Good thing, we put the clamps on him.”

Leaning on Danny Seigle’s shooting in the second period and a burst of three-pointers after halftime, the Energy were never threatened after building a 90-47 spread entering the payoff period.

“We’re a mix of young and veteran players who want to prove something,” said Baculi.

“Hopefully, my veterans could withstand the rigorous training so that we can make it to the playoffs.”

The Energy held the Tigers to a 33.3-percent shooting (28 of 84) while converting 47 of their 79 attempts (59.5 percent). The victors also drained 14 of their 27 shots from beyond the arc.

Plugging in the holes for the injured Jimmy Alapag, Ryan Reyes shone again with 20 points on seven of 12 shooting as Talk N Text drubbed

Barangay Ginebra, 86-71, in the other game to stretch its victory run to three, the Tropang Texters fifth in six games.

The Gin Kings trimmed it down, 71-61, but Reyes made six straight points, including a four-point play to silence the Ginebra faithful.

The Kings absorbed back-to-back setbacks and fell to 3-4.

The scores:

First Game
BARAKO 117—Salvacion 20, Miller 16, Artadi 14, Avenido 12, Seigle 11, Sorongon 7, Ababou 7, Arboleda 7, Pennisi 6, Allado 6, Salvador 4, Pena 4, Gatumbato 3.
POWERADE 78—Anthony 13, Kramer 12, Lassiter 9, Antonio 9, Martinez 7, Vanlandingham 7, Calimag 6, David 5, Casio 4, Lingganay 2, Allera 2, Crisano 2, Cruz 0.
Quarters: 27-13, 62-29, 90-47, 117-78

Second game

TALK N’ TEXT 86 – Reyes 20, Williams 19, Dillinger 14, Castro 13, Peek 7, Fonacier 5, Aguilar 3, Raymundo 2, De Ocampo 2, Carey 1, Aban 0.

GINEBRA 71 – Caguioa 14, Cortez 11, Labagala 8, Canaleta 8, Intal 7, Tubid 6, Villanueva 6, W. Wilson 4, Helterbrand 3, Cervantes 2, J. Wilson 2, De Ocampo 0.

Quarters: 23-17, 48-31, 69-52, 86-71