PBA: Fajardo stars as Petron stays pristine against Alaska

June Mar Fajardo canned a bailout jumper, before cashing in on crucial freethrows to lead the Petron Blaze Boosters past the Alaska Aces, 86-85, in the PLDT 2014 PBA Philippine Cup, on Saturday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

 

Fajardo led his team with 20 points and 12 rebounds. He also nailed a long fallaway jumper late in the fourth quarter while Petron tried to fend off the Aces' comeback. The center also showed more guard-like skills with his free throw performance, going 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe.

 

"He's demanding a lot of double teams and they're fouling him. It's a good thing he's composed and knocks those in," said Abanilla.

 

Down four with seven seconds remaining for the Aces to set up, RJ Jazul canned a step back three to cut the lead to one with 1.3 seconds left. Paolo Hubalde continued with his shooting woes, missing both tries from the line, as Alaska opted to absorb a technical foul for calling a timeout they did not have.

With one second remaining, Petron was awarded a technical freethrow. Marcio Lassiter trooped to the line but missed as well, leaving Alaska an opportunity to win the game.

The Aces had to inbound from the backcourt as Tony Dela Cruz set up a catch and shoot play, but Arwind Santos tapped the ball as the time expired.

 

Chris Lutz and Arwind Santos each had 15 points. Lutz added six rebounds and six assists, while Santos had nine boards. Marcio Lassiter scattered 12 points despite shooting 1-of-7 from long range.

 

"Alaska came in to play tonight. They really played well tonight and we're happy we were able to hold them off despite missing a lot of free throws in the end," said Petron head coach Gee Abanilla. "It was a character win. Our players refused to lose in the dying seconds and we were lucky to win this game."

 

Alaska trailed by nine with four minutes left in the fourth quarter when they made a push, as a Calvin Abueva and-one highlighted six straight Alaska points. However, Abueva also hurt his team by giving up a non-shooting foul to Arwind Santos and a technical to Paolo Hubalde. The Boosters went 1-of-3 from the line, 75-79.

 

June Mar Fajardo battled Sonny Thoss and JVee Casio, until the latter hit a trey with under a minute left, 85-83. But after Petron secured an offensive rebound, Casio was called for his sixth foul while checking Hubalde. Hubalde missed both with 23 seconds left, and Alaska brought the ball down instead of burning their last timeout. Abueva drove from the right baseline and got clipped by Doug Kramer, forcing him to shoot behind the backboard. The officials didn't call a foul and awarded the ball to Petron with nine seconds left.

 

Abueva then spent his last foul on Fajardo, who received the ball after the Boosters' last timeout. Fajardo made just the second try, and the Aces called a timeout to set up Jazul's huge triple.

Petron is the only undefeated team in the league through five games, while Alaska (2-4) have lost three of their last four matchups.

The Boosters' stingy defense prevented Alaska from getting into a groove early in the game, as Petron scored repeatedly in transition. As a result, four starters got up on the scoreboard during a 13-3 run, capped by Marcio Lassiter's fastbreak and-one at 7:20. Alaska regrouped on defense and held Petron to just two more field goals, as RJ Jazul converted a triple in transition with 44 seconds left, capping a 14-4 Aces run to knot the score at 17-all after the first period.

 

Both teams were evenly matched when the pace slowed in the second quarter, as they executed well in the half court. The Boosters led by as much as four, 29-25, after a strong drive by Paolo Hubalde, but Alaska took control once more down the stretch. Ryan Buenafe nailed a three-pointer with a minute to go, followed by a Jazul and-one against June Mar Fajardo, to lead 37-35 at the halftime break.

 

In the third quarter, Petron gained an edge by putting Alaska in the penalty early. The extra buckets, plus an Arwind Santos and-one, allowed the Boosters to briefly pull away with a 10-4 run, 51-46, with three and a half minutes left.

 

The Boosters began to run out of steam, though, relying on Doug Kramer to scrap for baskets while allowing Calvin Abueva to score inside. Jazul drained another triple with a minute to play, and after Petron fumbled their last possession, Abueva drew a non-shooting foul. With Petron in the penalty, Abueva made two from the line to even the score heading into the fourth quarter, 56-56,

 

Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo earned a technical foul with barely three minutes gone in the fourth quarter for complaining about his players getting tagged with multiple fouls. Hubalde converted the technical free throw to tie the game, but the Aces retaliated with a Cyrus Baguio trey, 66-63. Soon after, Alaska went cold and allowed Petron to dominate inside. The Boosters went on a 15-3 run, scoring 12 at the line or in the paint, to erect a 78-69 lead before the game's final sequence.

 

Petron finished the game with a 26-of-64 (40.6 percent) effort from the field and 31-of-46 (67.4 percent) from the line. In contrast, Alaska were 28-of-81 (34.6 percent) from the field and 23-of-37 (62.2 percent) from the stripe.

 

The Boosters led in fast break points (17-3) and turnover points (16-7), while Alaska led 15-2 in second chance points.

 

RJ Jazul top-scored for the Aces with 18 points. Abueva chipped in 17 points and nine rebounds, while Gabby Espinas added 11 points and seven boards. - RAF, GMA News

The scores: 

 

Petron 86 - Fajardo 20, Lutz 15, Santos 15, Lassiter 12, Hubalde 10, Kramer 9, Duncil 3, Lanete 2, Deutchman 0.

 

Alaska 85 - Jazul 18, Abueva 17, Espinas 11, Thoss 9, Baguio 9, Casio 8, Buenafe 3, Belasco 2, Dela Cruz 2, Hontiveros 2, Avenido 2, Exciminiano 2, Ramos 0, Eman 0.

Quarters: 17-17, 35-37, 56-56, 86-85