PBA: Petron rallies in the fourth, stays perfect with squeaker over Barako

(Updated 8:09pm) The Petron Blaze Boosters established themselves atop the standings in the PLDT MyDSL 2014 PBA Philippine Cup by besting Barako Bull Energy Cola, 96-90, on Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Trailing by nine late in the third quarter, Petron shook off the Energy with a 17-2 run spanning the latter two periods, 81-75. With Barako Bull's front line wearing thin due to foul trouble, the Boosters imposed their will inside to secure their fourth straight win.

The Boosters are the only team in the PBA with a clean loss column at 4-0, while Barako Bull evened their record at 2-2.

Marcio Lassiter unloaded a game-high 26 points, along with eight rebounds and four assists to lead Petron. Arwind Santos logged 19 points, while Paolo Hubalde had 15 markers. Last year's number one overall pick June Mar Fajardo tallied 11 points and 22 rebounds, while Chico Lanete scattered 10 points and four steals.

"We came into the game with eight players and one rookie, but for us, we told them that the standards and expectations should not be changed. Everybody pitched in and stepped up," said Petron head coach Gee Abanilla, praising his shortened rotation for the gutsy win. "I think it was a total team effort. We came in flat but we managed to hang on, and the breaks went our way."

Chris Lutz was dressed in uniform for Petron but didn't play due to injury. Lutz joins a growing number of Boosters sidelined due to various ailments, including Alex Cabagnot, Yousef Taha, Ronald Tubid, and Chris Ross.

According to Abanilla, Lutz hurt his thigh during their last outing and sat him out as a precautionary measure. "He was cleared to play, but we opted to make him feel comfortable with playing. So kung wala siyang kumpiyansa, we might as well [sit him]," explained Abanilla.

The Boosters mentor described his situation as "hectic," dating back to their seven-game series against San Mig Coffee in the Governor's Cup Finals, but vowed to make the most of  their situation. "We're doing everything we can. Hopefully we have somebody coming in during the next few games," he finished.

Barako Bull made Petron pay for lazy offense shortly after tip-off, swiping the ball from the Boosters to create easy buckets on the other end. Petron had little else beyond Marcio Lassiter's shot creation, which accounted for nine of their first 11 points. But on the other end the Energy spread the wealth as six different players scored at least once, with rookie point guard Jeric Fortuna capping a 10-0 run to establish an early double-digit lead, 21-11.

The Boosters called timeout with four minutes to play and settled into a more deliberate rhythm on offense. June Mar Fajardo and Chico Lanete paced them with nine of their next 14 points, while Barako Bull was sustained by Mick Pennisi and Keith Jensen's long-range makes. At the end of the first period, Barako Bull held a 31-24 lead.

Petron went to their zone defense early in the second quarter, though it was easily exploited by the Energy from the perimeter, as a Mark Macapagal triple spiked an 11-5 Barako blitz, 42-29. But the Boosters clawed their way back into contention by leaning on Fajardo to score or feed wing men coming off screens. After Jojo Duncil and Paolo Hubalde converted consecutive easy layups, Barako Bull saw their lead dwindle, 45-42, with three minutes to play.

With a minute left, officials counted a controversial bucket by Arwind Santos, who missed a two-handed dunk, but let go of the rim to tip his miss in mid-air. However, it was not enough to eliminate their deficit, as Barako Bull went 5-of-8 from the stripe to claim a 50-46 halftime lead.

The Energy were just 4-of-10 (40 percent) in the second quarter, with their last field goal coming at the 8:42 mark, but they finished the first half with a 16-of-24 (47.1 percent) clip thanks to a strong first quarter. In contrast, the Boosters were 17-of-47 (36.2 percent) from the field.


Santos carried Petron's offense right after the break, hitting two treys en route to 10 of their first 20 points. But the Energy were more aggressive, as Mark Isip, Dorian Pena and JC Intal took turns overpowering the Boosters in the paint. The trio accounted for 17 of their next 23 markers. With the Energy holding their own on both ends, Willie Wilson hit a triple to extend their lead, 73-64.

However, Petron didn't stay down for long. After wearing down Barako Bull on the defensive end, they capped the third period with seven straight points at the rim or from the line, trailing 73-71.

The Boosters continued to force the issue inside, led by Lanete and Fajardo's efforts, 81-75. As a bonus, Petron drew multiple fouls off Barako Bull's front line, leading to Pena's ejection, while tagging Isip and Pennisi with four and five personal fouls, respectively.

Forced to the perimeter, Barako's offense waned despite getting a huge trey from Macapagal. On the other side of the floor, it was Hubalde who stepped up for Petron, nailing clutch free throws and darting past the defense for buckets. The former UE Red Warrior scored eight of their next 10 markers, 91-85, to put Petron ahead with under two minutes to play, 91-85.

The Energy managed to close the gap to three, 93-90, off a Ronjay Buenafe trey with under a minute left, only for Santos to swoop in for a layup on the other end, forcing Barako Bull to burn their last timeout with 35 seconds left. The Energy managed to force a stop, but Intal clanged a long three-pointer, forcing them then to send Lassiter to the line with an intentional foul. Lassiter split with 20 seconds left, 96-90.

Petron finished the game with a 33-of-79 (41.8 percent) clip from the field, going 24-of-34 (70.6 percent) from the charity stripe. Barako Bull went 32-of-76 (42.1 percent) from the floor and 17-of-28 (60.7 percent) on free throws.

JC Intal top-scored for the Energy with 11 points. Mark Macapagal, Willie Miller, and Ronjay Buenafe offered 10 points apiece, with Buenafe hauling down seven boards. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Petron 96 - Lassiter 26, Santos 19, Hubalde 15, Fajardo 11, Lanete 10, Deutchman 7, Dunsil 4, Kramer 4, Marata 0

Barako Bull 90 - Intal 11, Macapagal 10, Miller 10, Buenafe 10, Wilson 9, Isip 9, Pena 9, Jensen 7, Fortuna 5, Villanueva 5, Marcelo 0

Quarter scoring: 24-31, 46-50, 71-73, 96-90