Barako Bull whips Petron, boosts playoff hopes

MANILA, Philippines – Rodney White fired 41 points and had 22 rebounds and Mick Pennisi stole the show with a classic comical act way before Barako Bull routed Petron Blaze, 94-80, which kept the Energy in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

White, who chalked up the season’s first triple double of 18 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in an 89-82 victory over Meralco last Saturday, was virtually unstoppable as the Energy rose to 4-4, now tied for fifth overall.

New Petron import Will McDonald got tossed out of the court with 8:45 left in the second period after he threw the ball to the head of Pennisi, who did a good overacting job—although way delayed—of falling to the floor after the incident, eliciting laughter from both benches and the Smart Araneta Coliseum crowd.

Pennisi’s antic already trended on Twitter and was getting numerous hits on YouTube and more than that, even Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi said “the flop” helped his team, without taking credit away from his players who played their hearts out.

“I was surprised at how their (Petron) import acted, and we were lucky that he got thrown out,” Baculi told reporters. “It would have been a different story had he been around to finish the game.”

White scored in double figures in each of the first three periods, and had eight clutch points in the fourth just when the Boosters tried erasing several 22-point deficits by connecting from the three-point region.

His three-point play in the second period gave the Energy its biggest lead, 52-28, practically sealing Petron’s doom.

Rain or Shine, out of it all since last week, notched a second straight win and greatly hampered B-Meg’s top two bid later in the night with a 101-95 upset which saw Duke Crews toss in 24 points that went with 16 rebounds.

The Llamados dropped out of a first place tie with Talk ‘N Text at 5-3, while the Elasto Painters improved to 3-5.

The scores:

First Game

BARAKO 94—White 41, Miller 16, Pennisi 11, Tubid 10, Allado 7, Arboleda 3, Weinstein 2, Aquino 2, Seigle 2, Najorda 0, Peña 0.

PETRON 80—Cabagnot 17, Santos 13, Yeo 11, Guevarra 9, Mc Donald 7, Miranda 7, Ildefonso 7, Reyes 5, Baclao 2, Rizada 2, Al-Hussaini 0, Lanete 0, Tugade 0.

Quarters: 30-20, 52-32, 74-52, 94-80

Second Game

RAIN OR SHINE 101—Crews 24, Chan 19, Arana 14, Norwood 11, Matias 8, Buenafe 8, Lee 6, Quinahan 6, Tang 5, Belga 0, Ibanes 0.

B-MEG 95—Bowles 38, Simon 19, Pingris 8, Reavis 8, Yap 7, Barroca 6, Devance 5, Intal 2, De Ocampo 2, Urbiztondo 0, Burtscher 0.

Quarters: 19-18, 39-43, 64-70, 101-95