PBA: Records toppled as Veterans demolish Rookies-Sophomore-Juniors squad

A fiery Veterans squad saw an opportunity to teach the younger standouts in the league a lesson or two, and the result was a largely one-sided All-Star affair. The PBA's older players led all the way, dispatching a selection of rookies, sophomores and juniors with aplomb, 176-144, Sunday, in the closing event of the 2012 PBA All-Star Weekend, at Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. Arwind Santos and Gary David gave the vets a 5-0 lead and they simply never looked back, as the younger squad was caught flatfooted coming out of the gate. Three triples by James Yap added to the barrage, and before the young guns knew what hit them, they were staring at a 34-24 deficit. But the older team saved the best for the end of the first period, as they preyed off unforced turnovers and converted those miscues into a 13-0 run. That gave the Veterans a 53-30 lead, just 12 minutes into the game. In the second quarter, a spin move by Yap and a JC Intal score in transition boosted the veterans' score to 79-49, a virtually insurmountable 30 point lead. The RSJ squad managed a 10-2 run to make it 84-61, but the old guard responded with an 11-3 counterattack, to enter the break up 31, 95-64. A lay-up by Alex Cabagnot and two charities by Asi Taulava, who tied Alvin Patrimonio with 12 All-Star appearances, most in PBA history, gave the Veterans their biggest lead of the game, 41 markers, 128-87. Unwilling to let the game get even further out of hand, the RSJ squad finally started connecting from downtown. Highlighted by a series of Urbiztondo triples, the younger PBA stars closed the third on an 18-6 run that made it a more respectable 134-105 with a quarter remaining. The last period though was all about breaking records for the Veteran team. They first overtook the scoring mark in a Veterans versus RSJ game, 146 points, set by the Veterans team in the 1990 All-Star Weekend. They then conquered the 163 point mountain erected by the South squad in the 2008 All-Star Weekend. But the last mark was broken by a player on both squads in the final minute, as Dylan Ababou and James Yap both overtook Samboy Lim's All-Star game scoring record of 42 points, with each finishing with 44 markers. During the halftime break, the duo of Kenneth Duremdes and Jamie Farinas won the Shooting Stars side event, as they were the only team to connect on a half-court shot. - Adrian Dy, GMA News The scores: Vets 176 – Yap 44, Santos 31, David 16, Cabagbot 16, Intal 15, Mercado 14, Tenorio 13, Norwood 13, Taulava 6, Thoss 5, Pingris 3 RSJ 144 – Ababou 44, Urbiztondo 21, Casio 18, Maierhiofer 12, Baracael 11, Barroca 10, Al-Hussaini 9, Ross 8, Lee 8, Lassiter 3 Quarter scoring: 53-31, 95-64, 132-105, 176-144