PBA: Defense keys Asi, Coke's win over Rain or Shine

11/23/2008 | 07:28 PM
Sunday

MANILA, Philippines - It's still too far to say whether defense will win a championship for the Coca-Cola Tigers.

Lately though, it's easy to see that it's been winning games for them.

Asi Taulava led five Coke players in double figures and the Tigers limited the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to its worst shooting night of the tournament to win 84-73 in the KFC Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Taulava had 16 points and 10 rebounds and starting playmaker Alex Cabagnot bucked a sore left hamstring to add 15 points and 11 assists as Coke won its second straight game and fifth overall against seven losses.

The similarities between Sunday's win and their win over Purefoods last Friday? Coke held both opponents in the vicinity of 37-percent field-goal shooting and 72.5 points.

"The indication here is that when we play good defense, the result is something we really like," Coca-Cola coach Kenneth Duremdes said.

"This win is very important to us because it's going to be a battle as the preliminaries head to the homestretch."

Even if Gabe Norwood struggled, Rain or Shine gave itself a chance to win, tying the game at 64 early in the fourth quarter. But Coca-Cola went on a 12-1 surge to virtually defuse the Elasto Painters' run.

Mark Telan also finished with a double-double for the Tigers with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Nic Belasco chipped in 13 points and Ronjay Buenafe had 11.

Forward Mark Isip and rookie point-guard Sol Mercado finished with 12 points to lead Rain or Shine, which dropped to an even 6-6 in the standings.

Norwood, the top draft pick this year, only had three points on one-of-seven shooting from the field. He also had a team-high eight assists and two rebounds for Rain or Shine, which notched its lowest scoring output in the tournament. - GMANews.TV

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Alaska buries TNT in PBA action, 113-86

11/23/2008 12:40 AM
SATURDAY
1st game

Alaska caught fire early and played with relentless defense against the high-scoring Talk 'N Text squad to post an easy 113-86 win Saturday night in the 2008-09 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at The Arena in San Juan.

Aces center Sonny Thoss waxed hot early while the Tropang Texters struggled with their shots as Alaska notched its 700 th win in franchise history, joining San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra in the exclusive list.

"It's a little bit shocking," said Aces mentor Tim Cone of their blowout win against the team being considered as one of the teams to beat in the tournament.

"But I'm very proud of the guys especially coming off a tough loss," Cone added.

Alaska now has a firm hold of the top spot with 9-3 slate and is now a couple of wins away of claiming one of the two automatic semifinal berths.

Joe Devance had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Aces but it was Thoss' 13 first quarter outburst that helped the team to break away from the anticipated close match between the league's two heavyweights.

Trailing 12-13 with five minutes left in the opening period, the Aces unloaded a mind-boggling 26-0 burst that took the balance out of the Tropang Texters as Alaska erected a 38-12 cushion.

Talk 'N Text went 0-of-11 from the field, 0-of-2 from the 15-foot line and committed two turnovers when Alaska made that decisive run.

The 26-0 blast by the wards of coach Tim Cone was the second all-time in record books behind the 32-0 run of Ginebra in the fourth quarter against Shell on May 14, 1991 in Game 5 of the First Conference Finals.

"I saw it many times in my career. Everything goes right for us and everything goes wrong with them," said Cone, who had five players in double figures in scoring.

"It was one of those nights. I've experience that as a coach on the other end it is always nice to be at this end, the winning end of it."

Defense also played a key role in Alaska's victory as they held the league's leading scorer Mark Cardona to just seven points in the contest.

Cardona entered the game averaging 37 points per game but he was never a factor in the game as he shot 2-of-10 from the field.

"Tony (dela Cruz) and Jeff (Cariaso) did a tremendous job on Cardona. He was our target in this game and I thought we did a great job on him," said Cone, whose wards came from an 88-92 loss to the upstart Rain or Shine.

The Aces shot 64 percent in the first half, converting 27 of their 42 attempts to build a 64-31 cushion going to the break.

And nothing worked right for TNT coach Chot Reyes in the second half and he decided to pull out his starters in the final period of the game.

Rookie recorded a career-high 16 points for the Tropang Texters who slid in the team standings with 5-6 mark.


Ginebra 93 Sta. Lucia 81

In the second game, Ginebra leaned on the game-long brilliance of Sunday Salvacion to beat defending champion Sta. Lucia Realty, 93-81, for its second straight win to improve their mark to 5-6.

Salvacion hit a game-high 22 points and was responsible for Ginebra's early breakaway Jayjay Helterbrand, Paul Artadi and Ronald Tubid to erect a 56-39 cushion at the half.

The Realtors had a pair of runs in the second half but the Kings always had an answer to prevent SLR of extending its winning run to four games.

Paul Artadi chipped in 18 points and he was responsible for the ejection of Paolo Mendoza in the game. Artadi drew an offensive foul on the veteran guard and did not like the call and threw the ball on the face of the Kings guard.

Mendoza was called for a flagrant foul 2 and was automatically thrown out in the game, his second this tournament.

Dennis Espino had 19 points for Sta. Lucia, which still played minus starting guard Ryan Reyes due to a back injury. Dennis Miranda added 10 while Joseph Yeo was limited to just nine markers after scoring a career-high 38 points in the team's 100-95 win over the Beermen.

as of 11/23/2008 12:40 AM

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PBA: Red Bull meets Air21, aims to end slump to four

11/21/2008 | 07:23 PM
FRIDAY
FIRST GAME

MANILA, Philippines – Red Bull tries to prevent from going down to its first-ever five-game losing slide in three years when it clashes with Air21, even as Purefoods attempts to bounce back from a loss when it takes on Coca-Cola Friday in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

There’s no denying that the Bulls’ roster has significantly dropped in terms of talent, having lost Junthy Valenzuela to Ginebra last conference and then Mick Pennisi to San Miguel Beer in the off-season.

But they made what everyone calls an ‘unbelievable’ winning run early, beating Talk ‘N Text and San Miguel Beer.

Now, everybody is wondering whether they could make that last push to avoid the wild card stage or worse, skip being dead last after the 18-game elimination round.

“It’s always tough going up against Red Bull," said Air21 coach Bo Perasol. “It’s not about their line-up, but it’s their aggressiveness and desire to win that’s very dangerous. Any team cannot take them for granted."

The Express, which have yet to make a quarterfinal round appearance in a tournament without imports, are pretty much in better shape than the Bulls. They are at an even 5-5, having won their last two games and five of their last seven.

In their previous outing, Air21 brought down the big Coca-Cola team, 111-101.

A victory by the Express will tie them with Rain or Shine, which just the other night scored its franchise’s first triumph over Alaska, the league leader with an 8-3 record.

Coca-Cola is in a similar situation with Red Bull. But with a more competitive line-up, one could only wonder why the Tigers are going through a slump.

The Tigers are on a three-game losing slide and are already 2-4 under interim coach Kenneth Duremdes. When the Tigers were under Binky Favis, the ball club was 1-3.

“Malayo pa naman (The season is still far), but we have to start winning games," said Duremdes. – GMANews.TV

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PBA action: Rain or Shine finally beats Alaska

11/19/2008 10:29 PM

WEDNESDAY

1ST GAME

Rain or Shine scored an impressive 92-88 win over Alaska Aces Wednesday night in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum, blocking the Aces’ attempt to notch their 700th franchise win.

Jay-R Reyes was seamless in the three-point area as he shot 5-of-5 behind the arc to finish with 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds. The Elasto Painters now have six wins in 11 games.

Rookies Gabe Norwood and Solomon Mercado also delivered the crucial points down the stretch to help Rain or Shine snap its two-game skid while denying the Aces their 700th win in 23 seasons in the league.

"I think this is our biggest win in this conference," said Elasto Painters coach Caloy Garcia who drew 20 points from Mercado.

"This is the first time we beat Alaska which I think is one of the strongest teams this conference, and to be able to compete with them shows we've improved a lot," Garcia added.

The win also avenged their 84-91 loss to the Uytengsu franchise in the first round.

The win snapped the Aces' four-game winning streak but remained at the top of the team standings with an 8-3 win-loss mark.

It could have been a memorable night for Alaska as it was eyeing its 700th victory to join two other ballclubs San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra in that exclusive list.

"Once again, my rookies played big tonight," said Garcia. "Gabe proved that he's not a soft player as he played on both ends of the court while Sol provided stablity in the fourth quarter."

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SECOND GAME

Sta. Lucia beats San Miguel, 100-95

In the second game, defending champion Sta. Lucia Realty banked on the exploits of Joseph Yeo and Norman Gonzales in disposing San Miguel Beer, 100-95, for its third straight win, strengthening its hold at third spot with 6-4 slate.

Yeo and Gonzales posted career-highs to fill up the slack as the Realtors played minus reigning MVP Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes due to injuries.

Yeo netted a personal-best 38 points while Gonzales also listed a career-high of 25 points to lead Sta. Lucia to the victory while handing the Beermen their second straight loss to slide down to 7-4.

San Miguel tried to get closer at 84-88 with a little over two minutes left in the game before Gonzales a drilled crucial three-pointer and Yeo complete a three-point play to push the lead back to 94-84, with a less than two minutes left in the game.

Bonbon Custodio led the Beermen with 19 points while Lordy Tugade chipped in 15 markers.

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Cardona leads TNT past Red Bull, sends message to Coach Guiao

SUNDAY UPDATE!
11/16/2008 10:29 PM

FIRST GAME

Mark Cardona exploded for a career-high 42 points to lead Talk 'N Text to a 103-93 come-from-behind win over Red Bull Sunday night in the 2008-09 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Cardona shot 17-of-26 from the field, including five three-pointers to erase his previous high 38 points he registered in Game 1 of the 2007 PBA Fiesta Cup semifinals curiously against the Barakos.

The former La Salle stalwart hopes that his offensive outburst would make Red Bull and national team coach Yeng Guiao to reconsider him for the national pool.

"Minsan lang mangyari sa buhay ng player ang mag-represent ng country. Sana ma-reconsider ako dahil gustong-gusto ko talaga maglaro sa national team," said Cardona, who also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists.

"I knew it's a question between Macmac (Cardona) and Cyrus (Baguio) but he's (Guiao) the coach and he has the prerogative. I have no problem with that," said TNT head coach Chot Reyes, who handled the last PBA-backed RP 5 in 2007 Fiba Asia Olympic qualifier in Tokushima, Japan.

"At least ma-reconsider man lang sana," he added.

Last week, Guiao announced the 14-man lineup that will try to qualify in the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey with the TNT shooting guard not in that roster.

And Sunday night, Cardona, the tournament's leading scorer, reminded Guiao that he, too, deserved to be in the pool.

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SECOND GAME

Gin Kings derail Giants

In the second game, Barangay Ginebra derailed Purefoods Tender Juicy in the last four minutes of the game to post a 90-80 victory to improve its mark to 4-6.

Ronald Tubid and Jayjay Helterbrand anchored the Kings breakaway in the closing minutes and avenged their first-round loss to the Giants.

"It's a good confidence builder for us. We've been struggling lately. We've been playing good first quarters but we just can't sustain it. Tonight, we were able to sustain our game in the fourth," said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

Helterbrand finished with 23 points, eight assists and five rebounds while Tubid added 17.

James Yap led Purefoods with 16 markers.

The Giants were still in the thick of things, 76-78, when Tubid and Helterbrand teamed up for a 10-3 blast to break away from a tight contest, 88-79, with 1:21 remaining.

as of 11/16/2008 10:29 PM

Ginebra vs Purefoods 11/16/08

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Alaska claims PBA top spot with win vs San Miguel

11/15/2008 9:45 PM
SATURDAY UPDATE!

SECOND GAME

Alaska grabbed the solo top spot with a masterful 91-85 conquest of San Miguel Beer Saturday night in the 2008-09 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.

The Aces came up with crucial defensive stops in the final minutes to hang on for their fourth straight victory and dislodge the Beermen for the No. 1 spot with 8-2 win-loss mark.

"It's always a thrilling feeling when you beat a quality team like San Miguel Beer and the guys did a wonderful job on the defensive end," said Alaska head coach Tim Cone who drew 20 points from Willie Miller.

"All the five guys on the court played alert defense and that's what we need to beat a quality team like San Migue. And tonight, we got that," Cone added.

LA Tenorio added 18 points and eight assists for Alaska while Joe Devance had 15 including a crucial putback that somehow doused the late-game run of San Miguel, which still occupies the No. 2 spot with 7-3 mark.

Alaska was sitting on an 84-72 advantage when the Beermen unloaded a 10-0 run anchored by rookie Bonbon Custodio to threaten at 82-84 with 1:19 remaining.

Devance put an end to the scoring drought as he followed up Miller's short stab and Tony dela Cruz and Tenorio each added a free throw to make it 88-82, 34.5 ticks left.

Dondon Hontiveros tried to rally his team back with a triple, 85-88, but Alaska sealed the win with three more free throws.

Custodio had a career-high 20 points for SMB while Hontiveros chipped in 16.

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First Game

In the first game, Air21 rode on the huge games of Arwin Santos, Gary David and Ranidel de Ocampo to wallop the reeling Coca-Cola squad, 111-101 for its second straight win and improve to 5-5.

Santos fired a personal conference-high 26 points, highlighted by six triples, while David unloaded 10 of his 23 markers in the final canto where the Express silenced the Tigers' attempt to get back in the game.

De Ocampo, who along with Santos is included in the 14-man RP 5 roster of coach Yeng Guiao, contributed 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in an all-around effort for the former St. Francis of Assisi standout.

"Every time na nasa zone ang opensa nila Arwind, Gary and Ranidel, 'yung level of firepower namin mahirap defenseman," said Air21 head coach Bo Perasol who also drew 11 points each from JR Quinahan and Doug Kramer.

"I commended coach Kenneth (Duremdes) for trying hard and I think's he's doing well," Perasol added.

The Express mentor also praised his players on playing defense especially against the frontline of Coke

"We had tired out Asi (Taulava) and some of their big men," he said.

Alex Cabagnot paced Coke with 19 points and a conference-high 11 assists. Taulava also grabbed a conference's best 25 rebounds but he was limited to just nine points on 4-of-16 shooting from the floor and was 1-of-8 in the free throw area.

Air21 led by as much as 21 points, 50-29 with 5:47 left in the second period and was never seriously threatened except for the Tigers' mild run in the fourth quarter.

After David hit a jumper to make it 88-75, Mark Macapagal buried back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to 81-88. But that was the closest Coke could get as Santos, David and de Ocampo joined forces in one telling run.

The Express used a 19-6 burst that put the lead back to 20 points, 107-87, under three minutes left in the game.

Macapagal added 17 markers for Coke, which absorbed its third straight loss to slide down at the cellar with 3-7 mark. The Tigers are now 2-4 under interim coach Kenneth Duremdes.

Mark Telan chipped in 16 points while Nic Belasco had 15 for Coke, which is still missing the services of John Arigo due to an injury.

Meanwhile, the PBA is mourning after the death of the league's former legal counsel Atty. Butch Cleofe because of a heart attack Saturday morning.

Cleofe served as the legal counsel for former PBA commissioners Atty. Rudy Salud and Jun Bernardino from 1988 to 2002. He was 58.

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PBA: Key baskets help Purefoods survive Red Bull rally

11/14/2008 | 08:17 PM
FRIDAY UPDATE!

MANILA, Philippines – Purefoods survived Red Bull’s big fourth quarter run, getting the key baskets from its two superstars in an 80-72 win, its fifth in 10 games in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

James Yap and Kerby Raymundo each knocked in a triple in the last 2:35 and the Giants forced the Bulls to three straight turnovers in the final two minutes to pull off the victory despite missing the services of PJ Simon and Roger Yap on injuries.

Yap finished with 28 points including 15 in the three-point area and had six rebounds while Raymundo wound up with 14 points as Purefoods overcame the loss of an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter when Red Bull unleashed a 13-0 run.

“At this point, the focus of our dynamic duo is helping us win every night," said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

Red Bull suffered its third straight defeat and joined idle teams Coca-Cola and Ginebra at the bottom of the 10-team standings.

The win also gave the Giants a sweep over the Bulls in their elimination round duel. Purefoods won their first encounter, 77-73.

Purefoods held Red Bull to only nine points in the first quarter and took a 66-55 lead entering the final 7:38 of the fourth quarter on a three-point play from former Bull Rich Alvarez.

But the Bulls unloaded their ferocious running game, scoring 13 quick unanswered points to grab the lead 68-66 with 4:14 remaining in the game.

But Raymundo had a basket, and after Gabby Espinas twinner gave Red Bull its last taste of the lead (70-68), James Yap drained a triple and Purefoods never looked back. – GMANews.TV

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PBA action: Purefoods survives Red Bull scare SECOND GAME UPDATE

UPDATE!!
11/14/2008
FRIDAY UPDATE!

SECOND GAME

In the second game, defending champion Sta. Lucia Realty (SLR) survived Rain or Shine's last gasp and banked on a crucial basket of seldom-used Christian Coronel for an 88-85 escape.

After Elasto Painters rookie Solomon Mercado tied the count at 83-all with 1:03 left, Coronel, who subbed for the ejected Paolo Mendoza, hit a 20-foot floater to beat the buzzer that gave the Realtors an 85-83 cushion, 38 ticks left.

Rain or Shine rookie TY Tang tried to reclaim the lead but his three-pointer at the right corner misfired and Sta. Lucia sealed the win with free throws to improve to 5-4 and hand the Elasto Painters their second-straight loss to drop to 5-5.

Mendoza led Sta. Lucia 16 points while SLR rookie Kelvin Gregorio hit a career-high 13 marker for the Realtors who lost reigning MVP Kelly Williams in the third period due to an eye injury.

Mark Isip led Rain or Shine with 23 points while Mercado chipped in 14. Coach Caloy Garcia was ejected in the third period after incurring two technical fouls.

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PBA action: San Miguel escapes with a win over Coke

11/12/2008 10:34 PM
WEDNESDAY UPDATE!

San Miguel Beer pulled off another end-game escape, this time against Coca-Cola, 89-86, to share the lead with Alaska in the 2008-09 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Mick Pennisi netted a conference-high 18 points with 15 of them coming behind the three-point area to lead San Miguel to its third straight win. The Beermen are now tied with the Aces with 7-2 card apiece.

Pennisi also grabbed nine rebounds and sank a crucial free throw in the closing seconds to spoil the Tigers' last-minute rally.

"They are not pushovers," said Beermen head coach Siot Tanquingcen, referring to the Coca Cola Tigers.

"We knew we have to earn the win the hard way after coming off another tense match, but it's a tribute to my players' toughness. We need these kinds of wins to be able to be tougher in the long run," he added.

Dondon Hontiveros chipped in 13 while Lordy Tugade and Wesley Gonzales contributed 12 apiece. Marc Pingris also had 11 points and 10 rebounds for SMB.

Alex Cabagnot, meanwhile, led Coke with 14 points and almost put his team back in the game after trailing 76-86 with 1:09 left.

Cabagnot engineered a swift 8-0 run, the last seven points coming from him, to threaten San Miguel at 84-86 with 17.9 seconds remaining.

Anthony Washington padded SMB's lead to 88-84 with two free throws but Cabagnot countered with his own pair of charities to make it 86-88 with 8.3 ticks left.

Asi Taulava sent Pennisi to the 15-foot line and the latter hit the first free throw but muffed the second to give the Tigers another chance to send the game in overtime.

However, Cabagnot's three-point attempt was way off the mark.

Coke absorbed its second straight loss to drop to 3-6. The team is now 2-3 under interim coach Kenneth Duremdes.

Mark Telan had 14 points and11 rebounds for the Tigers, who led by as much as 11 points midway in the third period before Pennisi led the uprising of the Beermen in the final quarter.

TNT downs Ginebra, 103-90
In the second game, Talk 'N Text (TNT) showed resiliency after being down by 20 after the first period to carve out a 103-90 win over Barangay Ginebra. In the process, the Trpoang Texters snapped their three-game losing streak and improved to 4-5.

Talk ‘N Text trailed 16-36 after the first 12 minutes but came out strong in the next three quarters to turn back the Kings.

Mark Cardona led TNT with 32 points on 15-of-24 shooting from the field while Harvey Carey posted 11 points and 15 rebounds.

The Tropang Texters led by more than 20 points in the second half before Junjun Cabatu tried to rally Ginebra back in the fourth period as he unloaded 14 of his 16 points in that stage to cut the lead to 84-93 with 4:20 left.

But Cardona anchored a decisive 7-1 exchange to put the lead back to double digits, 100-85, a little over two minutes left in the game.

Ronald Tubid finished with 17 points for the Kings, who joined first-game loser Coke at the cellar with 3-6 mark.

as of 11/12/2008 10:56 PM

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