Llamados rip Kings, take 1-0 semis lead

GINEBRA forward Rudy Hatfield tries to score off B-Meg import Denzel Bowles in ther semifnal game at press time. August dela Cruz

ANTIPOLO—B-Meg dusted off a horrid first quarter and utterly dominated Barangay Ginebra in the next three for an 82-67 victory last night that not only gave the Llamados a 1-0 semifinal lead but also put huge dent on the Gin Kings’ confidence for the rest of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup series.

Held to just eight points in the first 12 minutes, B-Meg took Ginebra by the throat and choked the Gin Kings to just 21 points in the next two quarters—a total that matched their first-quarter output—to scoot away at the Ynares Center here.

In fact, Ginebra was held to 45 points until the final 7:45 as the Llamados, who lost their last match with the Kings, managed to build a 25-point bubble even with James Yap not at his offensive best.

Game 2 of this series will be held tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, and it would take more than just minor adjustments for Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen to turn this tide, especially with Mark Caguioa out.

The absence of a legitimate gunslinger in Caguioa told heavily on the Kings, especially when the Llamados were breaking away.

“Nobody expected this (series) to be high-scoring,” B-Meg coach Tim Cone said. “We had to bleed for our points and got going in the second half and built a lead. A surprising lead if you ask me.

“But a first win (in a series) doesn’t mean much. You have to follow it up,” he continued. “The second game is always important, because it either gives you a big lead or you fall into a (deep) hole.”

It was a physical match to say the least, with Jackson Vroman showing his frustration by pushing Yancy De Ocampo with both hands in the face early in the fourth quarter. He was lucky to have been slapped just a flagrant foul penalty one.

Vroman was at the forefront of the great first quarter by the Kings, but he was never the same the rest of the way. After shooting seven points in the opening period, Vroman hit two in the second, a free throw in the third and was scoreless in the fourth.

The scores:

B-MEG 82—Bowles 21, Simon 13, Devance 9, Yap 9, De Ocampo 9, Urbiztondo 6, Reavis 5, Intal 4, Pingris 4, Villanueva 2, Barroca 0.

GINEBRA 67—Vroman 10, Labagala 10, Villanueva 8, Hatfield 8, Cortez 7, Canaleta 6, Helterbrand 6, Ababou 5, W. Wilson 4, J. Wilson 2, Raymundo 1, Mamaril 0.

Quarters: 8-21, 33-29, 60-42, 82-67