Petron turned back Alaska, 90-85, and then witnessed hours later how its sister team B-Meg quell a ferocious comeback by the depleted Talk ‘N Text to win and become the new league leader in the PBA Philippine Cup Tuesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Boosters began the game the way they desired, but still had to dig deep into their bag of defensive tricks and a sneaky move by Arwind Santos down the stretch to collect their ninth win in 12 games and dislodge the defending champions from the top after the Tropang Texters fell to the Llamados, 114-104, later in the night.
The victories by Petron and B-Meg gave them an immaculate 6-0 (win-loss) record for the month of November, and now things have become seriously interesting in the chase for the Nos. 1 and 2 spots that earns for the ball clubs twice-to-beat incentives in the quarterfinal round.
The Texters have now slipped to second place at 8-3, and the Llamados have swiftly moved up into solo third at 8-4 going into the homestretch stage of the season-opening conference.
Santos punctuated a 24-point performance with a sneaky tip-in in the final 12.6 seconds, and Petron succeeded in holding off Alaska. The Aces are now in danger of missing the playoffs after absorbing their ninth defeat with only three wins to show, a scenario that occurred only twice the past 32 conferences.
The last time Alaska missed making the quarterfinals was in the 2009 Fiesta Conference.
Santos shot 11-of-22 from the field, pulled down nine rebounds, and had three steals while Alex Cabagnot added 20 points and five assists. Denok Miranda contributed 14 points.
Alaska could have avoided such a complicated and tough situation had it taken care of its defensive rotation especially late in the game. The lapse it committed on Santos was the biggest blow, breaking apart its chances of stealing the game.
“Before the game I told the players never to under-estimate Alaska,” said Petron coach Ato Agustin. “They’re still fighting to make the playoffs and they need this game badly.” Sonny Thoss had 19 points and the same number of rebounds for Alaska, and five other players scored in double figures. LA Tenorio had 13 points and five assists, but committed two straight turnovers inside the last 58 seconds.
Petron actually led by as many as 18-3, and was ahead 83-76 with 3:27 to go in the game.
But the Aces unleashed a 9-0 run to seize the upperhand at 85-83, but couldn’t take it all the way.
Alaska was held scoreless since then, and Miranda scored on an underneath reverse lay-up, Santos hit a right corner jumper, Ildefonso had a split before Santos completed his game-long brilliance with a tip-in.
B-Meg, meantime, had to survive the loss of a 17-point lead under a barrage of three-point shots from Talk ‘N Text, which came into the match parading Jimmy Alapag, the reigning MVP who was never thought to suit up because of a severe ankle sprain.
But the player also known as the Mighty Mouse made an emphatic return. He scored 10 points in the third quarter alone, leading the Texters back from a 49-32 deficit and powering the franchise to a 78-76 lead going into the final period, before being carried out of the playing court with 4:40 left to play owing to cramps.
Talk ‘N Text even took an 80-76 advantage, before B-Meg recovered to make it a 98-94 edge.
And then, the Llamados unloaded a 10-1 assault to seal the game, 108-95, and got back at the team that beat them the first time they met, 96-94.
“This is the time to beat Talk ‘N Text,” said B-Meg coach Tim Cone. “This is the time to take advantage of your opportunities.”
Even with Alapag, Talk ‘N Text still played wounded. Its defensive players were out because of injuries – Ryan Reyes (MCL), Jared Dillinger (knee), and Aaron Aban (ACL). But they did come out with plenty of fire, and nearly stole the victory.
“We’re playing with fire but we still can’t shake them,” Cone said. “They hit every shot imaginable. But give our guys credit. We didn’t panic or try to do much on the offensive end. We just tried to play the game the same way every time.” James Yap hit for 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting, and Kerby Raymundo had 20 points and 12 rebounds. The two superstars combined for 21 points of the Llamados’ output in the final period (38).
Harvey Carey scored 25 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for Talk ‘N Text, a franchise that has finished with the No. 1 ranking for the past three conferences.
Alapag finished with 15 points and 11 assists.
