source: PBA.PH
Sun, 11/15/2009 - 19:21 — junior
San Miguel Beer had a 19-point lead almost wiped out and the Beermen had to assert their bench depth in the fourth quarter to beat the Barako Bull Energy Boosters, 104-89, Sunday in the 2009-10 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Arwind Santos turned in a career-high 33 points but it took a superb backup effort from veteran guards Mike Cortez and Denok Miranda that enabled the Beermen to put away the Energy Boosters, who lost despite having three players coming up with career-best numbers in scoring.
It was SMB’s sixth consecutive victory, matching the conference’s longest winning streak set by erstwhile unbeaten Alaska (6-1) and improved its record to 6-2 (win-loss).
“We had warned the team as early as Friday not to take any team for granted. It’s a good thing we managed to recover. I guess this is also a good lesson for us,” said SMB coach Siot Tanquingcen afterwards.
It looked it was anybody’s ballgame after Gilbert Lao made a free throw and Paolo Hubalde nailed an eight-footer to pull Barako Bull within 72-74, with 8:48 remaining.
But the Beermen scored the next seven points – five by Miranda – to make it a nine-point game.
Two free throws by Yousif Aljamal, who showed the way for Barako Bull with a career-best 21 points, made the count 74-81 before Arwind Santos and Cortez knocked in successive threes and Dorian Pena completed a three-point play during as the Beermen stretched the lead to 90-78 with 3:40 left and the Energy Boosters never threatened again.
Dondon Hontiveros scored 21 points, Miranda came off the bench and poured in 11 of his 17 points in the fourth as the Beermen once again overcame the absence of injured stars Danny Siegle, Danny Ildefonso and Jay Washington. Cortez scored seven of his 10 points also in the last 12 minutes.
The Energy Boosters, who played their second game in three days, picked up their third straight loss and fourth in seven games overall. But they didn’t go down without fighting.
The game appeared to be a blowout when the Beermen opened the match 22-7 and they almost appeared to have it sealed when they built a 33-14 advantage one minute into the second quarter.
Then the unexpected happened.
The Energy Boosters, who struggled on offense in the opening quarter, made 11-of-22 shots while the Beermen shot just 37 percent (6-of-16) and turned the ball over eight times in that stretch as Barako Bull earned a 12-0 advantage on turnover points.
Overall, Barako Bull outscored SMB 31-18 in the second quarter to trim the gap to just 45-49 at halftime.
Barako Bull’s offense took a blow with 2:11 left in the third quarter when rookie Ogie Menor (career-high 18 points, two assists) was whistled for a flagrant foul penalty two for extending his foot on Hontiveros’ landing spot. The infraction led to his ejection and a possible suspension.
Aside from Aljamal and Menor, Hubalde’s 20 was also his career-best in scoring. (DBC)
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL BEER 104 - Santos 33, Hontiveros 21, Miranda 17, Cortez 10, Pennisi 5, Pena 5, Villanueva 4, Tugade 4, Eman 3, Custodio 2, Racela 0, Calaguio 0.
BARAKO BULL 89 - Aljamal 21, Hubalde 20, Menor 18, Najorda 10, Dimaunahan 10, Sta. Maria 5, Alonzo 2, Crisano 2, Lao 1, Viray 0, Membrere 0, Belano 0.
QUARTERSCORES: 31-14, 49-45, 72-69, 104-89.
No comments:
Post a Comment