PBA: B-Meg backcourt blitz lifts Llamados over Ginebra

(Updated 9 p.m.) - In the battle of crowd favorites, the B-Meg Llamados overwhelmed the Barangay Ginebra Kings with scoring out of their backcourt, rallying from a flat start to win 109-93, Sunday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, before a crowd of 16,000 at the Araneta Coliseum.   Denzel Bowles teamed up with Peter June Simon down the stretch, just when the Kings appeared ready to pounce on the Llamados, as the latter lost several nine-point spreads and were held to an 85-85 standoff by their rallying opponent midway into the pivotal final quarter.             With both sides looking for a game-changer, Simon scored four straight points, Bowles accounted for the next seven of B-Meg, and then Simon capped the merciless 13-4 run with a breakaway lay-up to complete his own steal.             Suddenly, the Llamados had turned the game around to lead 98-89 with 3:04 remaining, silencing the pro-Ginebra crowd and prompting Kings coach Siot Tanquingcen to call a timeout.             The lull didn’t help the Kings any.             James Yap hit a three-pointer, and rookie Mark Barroca stabbed the dagger into Ginebra’s heart with a short jumper that hit nothing but net, giving the Llamados a 103-89 lead and the all-important win.             In all, the Llamados outscored the Kings 18-4 late, to erect that 14-point lead with a one minute and 30 seconds left.             “It’s all a team effort,” said Simon, who finished with 18 points on 8-11 shooting for B-Meg, winner for the fourth time in six games for solo second behind idle defending champion Talk `N Text (4-1).             “We really need to win this one since kapag natalo kami, malaki ang ibababa namin sa standings,” added Simon.             Bowles top scored for the Llamados with 27 points, an output Ginebra import Jackson Vroman nearly equaled with his 26 markers.             But Bowles carried B-Meg on his shoulders at the height of the Kings’ fourth quarter rally, the same stretch when Vroman totally disappeared for Ginebra.             The replacement for beloved import Chris Alexander broke the Kings’ silence with a two-handed dunk when the outcome of the match was already beyond Ginebra’s reach, 103-91.             Barroca added 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while two other guards, Yap and Josh Urbiztondo, also finished in double figures for the Llamados.             Ginebra fell to an even 3-3 (win-loss) card after suffering back-to-back losses, ironically, after they had won two straight prior to this slump.           The Kings actually led early on, 8-1, stretching their advantage to 26-20 after the first period, but Joe Devance and Barroca jump-started B-Meg's offense to give their side a 46-45 edge at the break.   Ginebra's best local performer turned out to be Dylan Ababou, who scored 15. The backcourt tandem of Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa combined for 25 points, while Kerby Raymundo finished with only eight points in his first game with the Kings against his former team.  – AMD, GMA News   The scores:   B-MEG 109 - Bowles 27, Simon 18, Barroca 18, Yap J. 15, Urbiztondo 12, Devance 7, Reavis 5, Pingris 4, De Ocampo 3, Intal 0.   GINEBRA 93 - Vroman 26, Ababou 15, Helterbrand 14, Caguioa 11, Canaleta 8, Raymundo 8, Hatfield 4, Wilson W. 3, Labagala 2, Cortez 2, Wilson J. 0, Mamaril 0.   Quarter scoring: 20-26, 46-45, 75-69, 109-93