PBA: B-Meg, Barako face-off; Boosters, Bolts look for first win

Expect no love between B-Meg and Barako Bull when they collide the day after Valentines in a battle for the early lead of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Astrodome.             Although his team is coming off a 96-93 win over the Meralco Bolts, Tim Cone, the Llamados coach, is wary of the explosive combination of the Energy’s talented local crew and deadly import DerMarr Johnson.             “Barako has as much pure talent as any team in the league, plus they have an anomaly as an import which makes them a tough match-up,” said Cone of Barako. “We’re hoping for the win so we can establish some early momentum in the conference.”             Johnson, easily the best among the current crop of imports in terms of credentials, had modest numbers of 19 points and eight rebounds, but was just 1-of-9 shooting from three-point range in his debut with the Energy.             But it was two-time league MVP Willie Miller who did most of the damage for Barako Bull, scoring 13 of his team-high 25 points in the third period, catalyzing the Energy’s 98-78 rout of the Alaska Aces.             Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi, however, downgraded the easy win his team pulled off against the Aces.                        “It’s too early to tell,” said Baculi. “Right now, we are still working on offensive chemistry. We will be tested defensively against B-Meg, a strong offensive team with a reliable import.”             The Llamados’ reliable import Baculi referred to happens to be Denzel Bowles, who finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Meralco.             The main game at 7:30 p.m. features the Bolts against the Petron Boosters in a battle between winless teams.             The Boosters actually came close to stretching sister-team Barangay Ginebra to an extra five minutes of play, but former MVP Jayjay Helterbrand nailed a tough, game-winning basket at the buzzer off the Petron import Nick Fazekas to pull through, 84-82.   The loss was not only a heartbreaker for Petron, but also put to naught the 37-point, 18-rebound output of Fazekas, whose long three-pointer with 3.0 seconds left tied the game for the last time, 82-82.             Now Fazekas will be matched up against Famous, whom Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio hopes will be able to play on a consistent level the entire game.             “Famous played decent in the second half after a woeful first half. But as an import, he must play at an optimum level for the whole game. Petron is always a tough match-up because of their depth and with the addition of Fazekas, it made them all the more dangerous,” Gregorio said. - AMD, GMA News