Petron blaze struck back at Rain or shine on a dominant fashion after the Boosters routed the E-painters 106-73, to avoid the brink of a three-game hole in their PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup semifinal affair on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Photo Credit: GMA Network
Feeling the sense of urgency Reigning MVP Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot led Petron, which had furious first half onslaught, to cruise to an easy win and cut the series lead to 2-1.
Holding a slim three-point cushion with two minutes left in the opening quarter, the Boosters suddenly ignited a 19-0 run to build a 34-12 lead, which they turned into a 59-36 advantage at the half.
The Elasto painters, who lost coach Yeng Guiao due to his two technical fouls late in the third, gave all their best to come near at 64-77 early in the payoff period but Petron, which buried eight triples in the game, was just too much for the Rain or shine to handle.
“It really feels good to finally get our first win in the series. I thought we played well in the second game, unfortunately, we weren’t able to finish it off,” said Petron coach Gee Abanilla. (Statement from Spin.ph)
“We made some adjustments, and I’m just happy the guys responded.” Abanilla added.
Santos collected a double-double of 22 points and 18 rebounds while Cabagnot and Junmar Fajardo contributed 15 and 14 markers respectively.
Beau Belga scored 14 points and seven boards for Rain or Shine, which its franchise record of 10-game winning streak was halted by Petron.
Elasto painters’ big time gunners Paul Lee and Jeff Chan on the other hand were contained to just five points.
The scores:
Petron (106) – Santos 22, Cabagnot 15, Fajardo 14, L(–foul word(s) removed–)iter 13, Lutz 11, Kramer 8, Ross 8, Duncil 4, Tubid 3, Taha 3, Deutchman 3, Hubalde2, Lanete 0.
Rain or Shine (73) – Belga 14, Quinahan 10, Almazan 10, Arana 8, Norwood 8, Tiu 7, Tang 4, Ibanes 4, Lee 4, Rodriguez 2, Cruz 1, Chan 1, Nuyles 0, Teng 0.
Quarterscores: 30-12, 59-36, 77-62, 106-63
