B-Meg forces series back to square one

B-MEG’S Peter Simon attempts to score on a reverse layup off Rain or Shine’s JR Quiñahan during last night’s PBA match. ARNOLD ALMACEN

B-MEG was in its finest form last night when Rain or Shine was at its worst, and the best-of-seven series for the PBA Governors Cup many thought was over will go the full route after all.

The Llamados pounded the lanes with impunity and shot the ball extremely well to bamboozle the Elasto Painters, 97-81, and forge a rubber match tomorrow at 6 p.m. for the season-ending tournament also at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

James Yap scored 20 points, Marcus Blakely had a double-double with 19 and 15 rebounds and the Llamados beat the Painters by 23 boards to post the most lopsided game of the series and gain a psychological edge going into the decider.

“We haven’t done anything yet,” B-Meg coach Tim Cone told reporters shortly after a verbal confrontation involving Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao and B-Meg team manager Alvin Patrimonio took place in the corridor leading to the locker rooms.

“All we did was tie the series. If we lose on Sunday, we might have lost the game tonight,” Cone added. “This game doesn’t really mean anything to either team. The big one is on Sunday.”

Cone actually described the game as one where “we hit all our shots.”

B-Meg opened up leads of as many as 24 in the fourth, and the best that the Painters could do was chop this down to seven twice, the last at 63-70 after a triple by TY Tang.

“They missed some shots they normally make,” Cone acknowledged. “We played a good game, hit all of our shots and played the way we wanted to play, and it mushroomed into a 20-point game.

The Painters were atrocious, to say the least, with the 14 points of import Jamelle Cornley enough to lead the squad in scoring.

Jeff Chan, Ronjay Buenafe and Ryan Arana, usual heavy contributors offensively, were all held to harmless numbers, combining for just 18 points while being effectively shut down when the Llamados broke away in the fourth.

“They are shooting a lot better than us,” Guiao said. “We have to go to practice tomorrow (today) and make the adjustments. We just got stalled again, but this series is still ours.”

Meanwhile, the PBA board of governors will convene on Wednesday to tackle the budget for the 2012-2013 season as well as the purchase of the Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines franchise by the Sultan 900 company of sportsman Mikee Romero.

Both topics will be opened for discussion at the league’s offices in Quezon City and will be voted upon when officials leave for Macau the following day, Aug. 9.

The scores:
B-MEG 97—Yap 20, Blakely 19, Simon 16, Villanueva 11, Barroca 8, De Ocampo 8, Urbiztondo 7, Reavis 6, Pingris 2, Gaco 0, Burtscher 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 81—Cornley 14, Tang 13, Norwood 12, Quinahan 9, Chan 7, Buenafe 7, Ibanes 7, Belga 6, Arana 4, Cruz 2.
Quarters: 19-13, 42-30, 65-56, 97-81