PBA: Boosters torch Elasto Painters in blowout

The Petron Blaze Boosters leaned on their sweet shooting to defeat the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 106-73, Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena, to draw blood in their 2013-14 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series. 

Reigning league MVP Arwind Santos led Petron with 22 points, 18 boards, along with a perfect 7-of-7 clip from the stripe. 

"It really feels good to finally get our first win this series," said Petron head coach Gee Abanilla. "We played well in the second game but we didn't finish it off. We knew what to do in this game all throughout. We gotta be physically and mentally tough."

 

Rain or Shine still holds 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series though. Game four will be on Monday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

"In the first game, we were surprised by the physicality of the semis," added Abanilla. "We fouled less in this game; we sent them to the line only four times. This win is a big lift for us. Coming into game four, we'll have more confidence."

The Boosters came out firing at the start of the game, swinging the ball around to find the open man. Five straight from Arwind Santos made it 13-2 early on, before Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood responded with twin triples. Petron's ball movement resulted in a total of six long bombs, enough to build a 30-12 lead. Rain or Shine, on the other hand, struggled with the ball, committing seven turnovers.

"We have to manage our emotions," added Abanilla. "We don't want to turn it into something outrageous. June Mar [Fajardo] was patient enough finding open guys; he's slowly adapting to it and recognizing it properly."

The lead ballooned to 24 points after a Lutz drive to start the second period. RoS responded with triples from Chris Tiu and JR Quiñahan on offense and better interior defense, 34-20. Petron was able to adjust, though, as they swung the ball anew to find their snipers, 44-24.

 

With RoS trying to cover the perimeter, Petron then fed June Mar Fajardo on the block, before the Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross tandem exploited the Elasto Painters' defense for more buckets, 50-26. A technical foul on Yeng Guiao resulted in more freethrows for Petron, as TY Tang tried to keep Rain or Shine alive with a series of points, 57-33. Santos responded with a tough turnaround jumper at the other end, as Raymond Almazan ended the half with an and-one, 59-36.

 

Petron struggled to find their shooting form at the start of the second half, while Jireh Ibañes found open lanes to the hoop, 61-45. Free throws kept the Boosters ahead, before a Santos trey made it another comfortable lead for Petron, 72-55. Soon after, RoS head coach Yeng Guiao was assessed his second technical, signaling the end of his night on the bench. The third quarter ended with Petron still ahead, 77-62.

 

The Elasto Painters were able to cut the lead to 13 anew, but Paul Lee and the rest of the RoS squad on the floor struggled to connect. Petron responded with a Fajardo move on Quiñahan on the block, before Alex Cabagnot and Lassiter took it strong to the hoop, 84-64. June Mar Fajardo then turned it on against Raymond Almazan, losing the rookie on spin moves to the basket to establish a 90-65 advantage.

Aside from Santos, four other players finished in double figures for Petron. Alex Cabagnot drained triples while scoring some baskets off post moves on TY Tang, putting up 15 points, three rebounds and four assists. 2012 number one overall pick June Mar Fajardo had 14 markers and 12 boards, while Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz had 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Rain or Shine's bigs led the team in scoring. Beau Belga had 14 points, while JR Quiñahan and Raymond Almazan posted 10 each. Jeff Chan was limited to one point in 17 minutes of play.

Petron shot 38-of-78 for a 48.7 percent clip, while Rain or Shine shot 23-of-63 for 36.5 percent. Petron also had the upper hand in rebounds (46-35), assists (23-22), and steals (8-2). - AMD, GMA News