Boosters rout Aces; Powerade sustains hot form

MANILA: Petron Blaze, the real, powerful one, showed up last night and was impressive to say the least.
In their first game since suffering their first defeat, the Boosters played with total command and tore Alaska to shreds, 107-94, to stay in second place in the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum.
Looking listless in a one-sided loss to bitter rival Talk ‘N Text just a week ago, the Boosters were the exact opposites against the hapless Aces, who never stood a chance despite playing hard all night.
“We started strong and it was the difference from our last game against Talk ‘N Text (in Antipolo),” coach Ato Agustin told reporters in Filipino. “That’s the thing we did right in this game.” Eddie Basden, the National Basketball Association veteran who failed the height test for Alaska when the import limit was 6-foot-4 last year, torched the Aces with 29 points and led four locals in twin digits in a balanced attack.
Basden scored 12 of his total in the first period when the Boosters raced ahead, and then had 10 in the third when the Aces tried to rally from several double digit deficits.
“Every (won) game is important because of the carry-over record,” Agustin continued, ruing the loss against the Tropang Texters. “We’ve instilled that in the minds of the players.
Petron led by as many as 22 points several times in the second half, doing so even with starting point guard Alex Cabagnot struggling to post just two points, five rebounds and three assists.
“Our shot selections today were very good. We took the ball hard to the basket.” Chris Lutz scored 14 points, Arwind Santos had a quiet 13, and Jay Washington and old hand Danny Ildefonso tossed in 12 each for the Boosters, the defending champions.
And while Petron was able to come back from that loss to the Texters, Talk ‘N Text, on the other hand, couldn’t sustain the brilliance from that game as it bowed to Powerade, 110-105, in the other game.
Powerade import Omar Sneed scored 32 points and had 23 rebounds and Gary David tossed in 28 to complete a two-sided blade that slit the collective throats of the Texters.
It was the second straight win for the Tigers, who rose to a level 2-2 to be in the middle of the pack, while the loss was the third in four games for the Texters, a dire development indeed considering how short the elimination round is.
Only six teams will advance to the semifinals, and with just five games to go, the Texters, as well as the Aces, would need to win games in a string in order to get back in the thick of things.
“How could you not have confidence if you have a teammate like Omar? He brings out that feeling (in his teammates) that we can beat any team,” Powerade coach Bo Perasol said. “What’s important is that he’s not only unselfish, but he’s also producing.”
Rey Guevarra continued to surprise for the Tigers.
Playing just his second game after being involved in the deal that sent him and Rabeh Al-Hussaini to Powerade from Petron for Marcio Lassiter, Guevarra scored 11 points, including two highlight reel plays that kept the Tigers afloat.
The former Slam Dunk champion in the NCAA dropped a tomahawk dunk in one play early in the fourth and then had a difficult double-pump running jumper in another as the Tigers took a 100-89 with under five minutes left.
And there was David, as always, to carry the local scoring burden for the Tigers.
David had all but four of his 28 in the final three periods, joining hands with Sneed in scoring heavily when the Tigers needed it.
Sneed, who remained undefeated in Philippine soil, scored 22 of his total in the final half, and was clearly the biggest difference as he became a matchup problem all night for the Texters.
Paul Harris led the Texters with 22 markers, but was scoreless in the third when the Tigers overhauled a five-point halftime deficit to take a 78-68 lead into the fourth quarter.