PBA: Boosters blast lowly GlobalPort in Junemar's return

Petron's Arwind Santos (center) soars over the scrum for a score. KC Cruz

 

All of the 12 Boosters who played on the court scored at least four points for a balanced attack on offense. Chris Lutz led all scorers with 22 points while Arwind Santos chipped in 20 markers and 13 rebounds.

 

An alley-oop pass from Denok Miranda was converted to a one-handed jam by Jay Washington at the 5:15 mark of the fourth quarter to give the Petron Blaze Boosters a commanding 97-65 lead. It was a fitting exclamation point to a perfect game from the Boosters, who are now on a two-game winning streak. 

 

"It was a combination of a lot of things," said Petron head coach Olsen Racela. "We caught Global in their worst game of the season. We expected a close fight specially because Gary David scored 21 points in the fourth quarter in their last game."

 

The Boosters knew exactly what David was capable of, so they worked on a plan to control him. Marcio Lassiter stuck to David to start the game and made it hard for the veteran to get his shots. David was limited to just 10 points, seven off which came from the free throw line.

 

The Petron Blaze Boosters guards stifled their counterparts, as Alex Cabagnot contained Al Vergara, while Denok Miranda picked it up against AJ Mandani. Although the Boosters did not force turnovers, they did not allow GlobalPort to set-up their offense.

 

Arwind Santos did most of the scoring in the early part of the first for Petron. Two free throws and a three from Chris Lutz gave them a 24-11 with 1:19 left in the quarter. 

 

The Boosters played loose from the start of the game. They totaled 18 assists compared to a measly 4 assists for GlobalPort.   

"Mahirap kasi when you're in a losing streak," said Racela, who was inducted to the Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame the previous day. "Feeling mo lahat ng ginagawa mo mali. But when you get out of it, mas may kumpiyansa ka sa ginagawa mo."

 

In the second quarter, two quick baskets from Lutz and Jojo Duncil gave the Boosters a 31-15 lead. A Gary David triple reduced the lead to 14, but it was a meek reply to Petron's scorring barrage. Lutz and Cabagnot combined for five fastbreak points to extend the Petron lead to 19, 39-20.

 

Triples from Lassiter and Yeo extended this further to 22 at 45-23. Another flurry of threes from Lutz and Santos gave the Boosters a 58-34 lead at the half.

 

Petron's 58 points in the half was ordinary, but limiting the usually high-scoring GlobalPort to just 34 points in the half was surprising: 

 

"We're second to the last on defense in the league. That's what we're concentrating on," Racela said. "Individually, we have good defensive players but we need to improve how we play defense as a team."

 

Lutz continued his hot shooting in the third with a three a few seconds after play resumed. Two free throws from him at the 5:17 mark gave the Boosters a 31 point lead, 73-42. Rudy Lingganay sank a three to end the third quarter for GlobalPort and cut the lead to 28 but the game was long gone at that point.

 

The game featured the return of Junemar Fajardo who celebrated his 23 birthday yesterday. The 2012 first overall pick checked in midway through the first quarter and finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, a steal and a block. This was the first time Fajardo got playing time since his operation groin last month.

 

"He's a big addition kasi si Danny I, hindi makakalaro. Kulang pa siya sa hangin, kulang pa yung legs niya, but you can see a big difference when he is inside," said Racela. "Meron kaming taga-rebound, meron kaming intimidating presence underneath."

 

This was the second straight game that the Boosters stepped up amidst an array of trade rumors, but by the look of this team right now, it seems that they do not need to tinker with their line-up and instead just give the players more time to develop as a unit. Petroniverse also felt the same as they repeatedly shouted "No more trades!" throughout the game.

 

Asked if this is the way he expects his Boosters to play from now on, Racela simply said that they are taking it one game at a time:

 

"Uunahin muna naming makapasok sa playoffs. GlobalPort and Barako Bull are teams immediately below us so importanteng talunin namin sila. Then if we do, our last two games will be about placing." - RAF, GMA News  

 

The scores:

 

Petron 110 Lutz 22, Santos 20, Fajardo 14, Lassiter 10, Washington 10, Mallari 6, Duncil 6, Yeo 5, Cabagnot 5, Faundo 4, Lanete 4, Miranda 4

 

GlobalPort 81 Guevarra 14, Vanlandingham 10, David 10, Mandani 8, Lingganay 6, Miller 6, Manuel 5, Al-Hussaini 5, Salvador 5, Antonio 5, Yee 4, Deutchman3, Vergara 0, Adducul 0 Quarter scores: 27-15, 58-34, 81-53, 110-81