David carries Powerade to 108-94 win over Petron

Gary David was on fire all-game long Sunday night to carry Powerade to a 108-94 victory over Petron Boosters in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. David finished with a season-high 42 points, including seven in a row midway in the fourth quarter when the Tigers finally took command of a game after trailing by as many as 12 in the early part. The veteran shooting guard stirred up his personal scoring run with a lay-up to tie the game at 83, buried a three-pointer in the Tigers’ next possession to put them in front, 86-83, before capping his one-man attack with a reverse lay-up for a five-point Powerade lead. Any chance of a Petron comeback diminished in thin air in the final 3:14 when do-it-all forward Arwind Santos was called for a technical flagrant 2 foul for elbowing veteran Ricky Calimag in the face as the two went for the rebound under the Boosters’ basket. Calimag converted both free throws at the other end as the Tigers kept the lead, 94-89. The win snapped a two-game skid for Powerade and improved to an even 3-3 card in a tie with Petron. The Boosters, on the other hand, suffered their third straight loss after opening the tournament with three straight wins. “I told the boys that the only way we can put behind those two losses is to beat Petron today," said Powerade coach Bo Perasol. “I think we’re bound to get better. Doug Kramer added 18 points and rookies Rudy Lingganay and Marcio Lassiter had 11 apiece for the Tigers, whose win marked the first for top draft pick JV Casio in a Powerade uniform. Santos led the Boosters with 23 points and nine rebounds before being ejected out of the game, while Alex Cabagnot and freshman Chris Lutz made 22 and 15, respectively. The game was delayed for more than 10 minutes at the half when repair men fixed the goal of Petron, which crashed under the weight of a two-handed dunk made by big man Rob Reyes during the Boosters’ shoot-around. — KBK, GMA News The scores: Powerade (108) -- David 42, Kramer 18, Lingganay 11, Lassiter 11, Calimag 9, Casio 6, Antonio 4, Anthony 3, Vanlandingham 2, Crisano 2, Adducul 0. Petron (94) -- Santos 23, Cabagnot 22, Lutz 15, Ildefonso 9, Agustin 6, Sharma 6, Yeo 5, Miranda 4, Guevarra 2, Reyes 2, Doruelo 0, Baclao 0. Quarterscores: 20-30, 48-47, 74-77, 108-94