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PBA: Petron continues to roll, strangles struggling Express
Ronald Tubid stops for a one-hander against the Express defense Photo by KC Cruz
Reynaldo Balkman led all scorers with 25 points and 13 boards, while Arwind Santos tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
It was a miserable shooting night for both teams as each side had one quarter wherein they scored a mere seven points.
"It was a defensive game for both teams and the score showed it," said Petron head coach Olsen Racela. "We told the guys I don't care if we have a low-scoring game as long as we make stops on the defensive end.
"I have to hand it to Balkman; there were stretches where we couldn't get anything, but being the leader that he is, especially in the fourth quarter, he stepped up," Racela continued. "We went to him and he gave us that cushion in the end."
Renaldo Balkman kept his team in the game in the first quarter, scoring a thunderous dunk over his counterpart on the other team, Michael Dunigan, while Mike Cortez led Air21 with an and-one play to take a 10-8 edge.
Marcio Lassiter drilled a three-pointer midway through the period to trigger a 10-4 stretch for the Boosters. The Express struggled against Petron's interior defense, but a transition layu-p by Dunigan with under a minute to play put them behind by one, 18-17, after the first period.
Arwind Santos knocked down a pair of baseline jumpers early to in the second quarter to make it a 22-17 game, but neither team could buy a bucket afterwards. The difference was that Petron were missing open looks, while Air21 struggled against the Boosters' active defense.
With nearly five minutes to play, a Dunigan put-back gave the Express their first points of the period, but Air21's success was short-lived. The score seemed to have stirred Petron as they began playing the passing lanes to force turnovers, while Denok Miranda and Balkman combined for the ensuing 12-5 run to close the half ahead by double digits, 34-24.
Air21 had a 17-10 rebounding advantage in the second quarter (including 8-4 offensive) but had an atrocious shooting performance, as they were only 3-of-17 from the field (17.6 percent). In contrast Petron shot the ball at a pedestrian 7-of-19 clip (36.8 percent) in the same period.
Mike Cortez (L) harries Marcio Lassiter, while Petron import Renaldo Balkman (R) looks on. KC Cruz
The scoring didn't fare much better when play resumed, but the Express improved their efforts on defense, evidenced by forcing Chico Lanete into a five-second inbounds violation. Slowly, the Express started stringing the points together. They surpassed their seven-point output in the previous quarter with a Dunigan put-back slam at the six-minute mark, 34-32.
Dunigan completed another put-back to energize his squad. Air21 suddenly took the lead, 40-36, on a long two by Wynne Arboleda with a minute and a half remaining.
Ronald Tubid replied shortly, relieving Petron with the team's second three-pointer, but the Boosters could only watch in frustration as even Santos missed two from the line. Santos returned soon to make a pair of charities, and a Dunigan charity split as time ran out made it a 41-all game heading into the fourth quarter.
The Boosters made only 2-of-20 from the field in the third quarter (10 percent).
Balkman opened the fourth quarter by attacking the rim for six straight, and a lucky bounce on a Tubid jumper gave the Boosters an 8-0 head start. Dunigan and Cortez answered for Air21, making 49-45, five minutes into the period.
However, Air21 had difficulty containing the Boosters' ball movement, which led to open jumpers for the wings and mismatches for Santos. The lanky forward buried a mid-range deuce to stretch the lead, 57-48, with three and a half minutes to play.
The Express threatened to make it an interesting game as KG Canaleta sent home a step-back triple with two minutes to play, but a Balkman drive kept them at arm's length anew. Custodio replied with charities though, tabbing it at 59-53, with 49 seconds to play.
Air21 had an opportunity to score in transition but John Wilson flubbed the open lay-up. The Express then fouled Lanete who split from the line, 60-53, with 19 ticks to play, but couldn't convert a lob play on the following inbounds. Petron retained possession to finish out the game.
Santos received praise from his coach for stepping up tonight. "He's been very patient in this conference," offered Racela. "Tonight he got his minutes and showed his worth. Handa [ang team kong] gawin kung ano ang dapat para manalo."
Racela also admitted the Boosters are struggling in the absence of his injured rotation players. "Whenever the game is on the line, si Alex [Cabagnot] ang nandiyan. And of course Chris [Lutz] gives us offense," he said, discussing what he missed about them.
Lutz is expected to be out for 2-3 weeks, and the team is targeting his return by the end of the elimination round. Meanwhile, Racela said that Cabagnot's return this Sunday against Barako Bull Energy Cola seems unlikely.
Air21 won the rebounding battle, 62-49, including a 22-13 margin on the offensive glass, but they shot the ball worse than the Boosters, making only 21-of-76 (27.6 percent). In contrast Petron fared slightly better, making 24-of-75 from the field (32 percent).
Petron took better care of the ball, notching only 11 turnovers to Air21's 25. Petron registered a 15-3 margin in points off turnovers.
Michael Dunigan led Air21 with 15 points and 28 boards. Bonbon Custodio and KG Canaleta tallied eight points apiece and combined for nine rebounds. - RAF, GMA News
The scores:
PETRON 60 - Balkman 25, Santos 11, Lassiter 7, Tubid 7, Miranda 6, Lanete 4, Fajardo 0, Yeo 0, Washington 0, Pena 0.
AIR 21 53 - Dunigan 15, Custodio 8, Canaleta 8, Cortez 7, Isip 6, Wilson 5, Omolon 2, Arboleda 2, Atkins 0, Sena 0, Baclao 0, Menor 0.
Quarters: 18-17, 34-24, 41-41, 60-53
