source: PBA.PH
Sun, 11/15/2009 - 21:41 — junior
PUREFOODS remained true to its rollercoaster ride Sunday in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Giants coach Ryan Gregorio now hopes that trend stops for the better.
“I am pretty sure, sooner or later we will stabilize,” said Gregorio following his Purefoods 103-69 win over Rain or Shine that held true the team's penchance to bounce back from a loss.
“Our most immediate goal right now is to grab two straight wins and we could do that in our next game against Alaska on Sunday,” he added.
The Giants sure could use it to snap out of the alarming funk that has placed them at fifth-running spot with a 4-3 win-loss slate.
Despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter, rookie Rico Maierhofer still led the Purefoods scorers with 15 points as they notched the victory that was the most lopsided in three seasons, or since a 114-73 victory over Coca-Cola in December of 2003.
The output was a conference-tying low for RoS, as it matched the Tigers' output in a 21-point loss to Alaska last Oct. 23, which, coincidentally, was the tournament's previous worst blowout.
After being foiled in its bid to follow up on its 86-81 victory over erstwhile unbeaten Alaska last Friday, Rain or Shine dropped to 1-7 and for naught went Ryan Arana's gamehigh 20 points.
Noting his team's needed break following a 76-92 loss to San Miguel Beer and what the Elasto Painters just went through, Gregorio termed the match as one between a “fresh team and a tired one.”
“We grabbed 65 rebounds and they only had 35. That shows what kind of contrast in the legs the teams have,” he pointed out.
There was really no denying the Giants' resolve and this was typified most after the Elasto Painters crawled back from an 18-point deficit to within 52-64.
James Yap (14 points) led a 9-0 run spanning the last two quarters to pave the way for a bigger 21-4 blast from an 82-63 count.
Purefoods readily set the tone by easily taking the opening period 24-17 before finishing the half with a 16-point spread.
Maierhofer was already flirting with his double-double in the first 24 minutes of play with 13 points and eight rebounds. What's more, he surprisingly drained back-to-back triples, the last giving the Giants a 42-24 cushion.
Despite its breakthrough win over Alaska, Rain or Shine remained at the tailend of the field in terms of points scored (81.7) and field goal percentage (38.5). The team did not give any indication there will be any radical change in those departments.
The Elasto Painters went 9-for-36 from the field for only 25 percent and were beaten black and blue off the boards, 17-33.
The scores:
Purefoods 103 - Maierhofer 15, Yap, J. 14, Allado 14, Raymundo 13, Artadi 9, Simon 9, Timberlake 8, Canaleta 7, Pingris 7, Salvador 4, Yap, R. 3, Reavis 0.
Rain or Shine 69 - Arana 20, Norwood 13, Hrabak 11, Mercado 9, Chan 6, Cruz 5, Arellano 2, Reyes 2, Dulay 1.
Quarters: 24-17, 47-31, 71-52, 103-69.
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