MANILA, Philippines—Slowly but surely, things are falling into place for Petron Blaze.
The Boosters tore slumping Global Port apart, 110-81, Sunday in the 38th PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Combination of a lot of things, we caught Global on their worst game of the season. We were expecting a close fight especially with Gary David coming off a 21-point fourth quarter. I’m surprised with how we won with a big margin,” said head coach Olsen Racela.
The Boosters, who improved to 5-6, proved their 96-86 win over Rain or Shine last Wednesday was no fluke as they picked up where they left off, wasting no time as it cruised to a 58-32 lead in the closing minutes of the second quarter.
“The win against Rain or Shine really gave us confidence,” added Racela.
Arwind Santos dominated early, notching a double-double just in the first half en route to 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Petron padded on to its lead in the second half with its advantage reaching the 30-point plateau.
On the run, Dennis Miranda lobbed it off to the streaking Jay Washington, who finished with a one-handed flush that made it, 97-65, with 5:29 left.
Gary David struggled, scoring just one field goal for 10 points on one-of-eight shooting from the field.
Willie Miller also had a sub-par game with only six points and four turnovers.
The Batang Pier, who suffered their sixth straight setback, dropped to 1-9.
Global Port, which already had nine turnovers in the first quarter, hasn’t won since it beat Meralco last October 17.
Petron led by as much as 33, 110-77.
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