Petron Blaze wins third straight, halts Rain or Shine

MANILA, Philippines— Petron Blaze practically adopted the same playbook it had on the worst team of the conference to stop the hottest ballclub on its tracks.

Arwind Santos had 25 points and 14 rebounds and Chris Lutz added 22 on his celebrated return from a hamstring injury as the Boosters thrashed the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters, 90-80, Sunday night in the 2011 PBA Philippine Cup.

“Our game plan worked. Most of their points come from transition and fast breaks and we were able to contain them,” said Petron Blaze coach Ato Agustin, who used exactly the same ploy on the Shopinas.com Clickers (0-8) last time out. “As I’ve told you, these two teams play almost the same.”

On snapping Rain Or Shine’s five-game streak, the Boosters moved to solo third with six wins against three losses while giving Talk N Text (6-1) a free ride to the top after pulling down the Elasto Painters to second place (7-2).

The scores:
PETRON 90 – Santos 25, Lutz 22, Cabagnot 16, Yeo 14, Miranda 4, Ildefonso 4, Reyes 3, Agustin 2, Doruelo 0, Baclao 0, Sharma 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 80 – Chan 15, Quinahan 15, Belga 9, Rodriguez 9, Norwood 8, Buenafe 8, Lee 6, Matias 5, Arana 5, Cruz 0, Ibanes 0.

Quarterscores: 22-12, 44-23, 72-51, 90-80