Perfect no more: Gilas' streak ends as Derby Ace wins

B-Meg Derby Ace, whose franchise has a rich all-Filipino winning tradition, played with a lot of pride against the erstwhile unbeaten Pilipinas-Smart Gilas. On Wednesday night, the Llamados thrived under pressure to hand the Nationals their first loss in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup via a hard-earned 98-90 overtime win at the Araneta Coliseum. Playing minus its top gunner — James Yap — B-Meg Derby Ace turned to Peter June Simon in the extra period. The deadly shooting guard clustered five straight points to help his team snap Pilipinas-Smart Gilas’ five-game winning streak. Simon began the extra period by nailing a huge three-pointer, then followed it up with a reverse lay-up after getting the rebound off his own miss to give the Llamados a five-point cushion they wouldn’t relinquish until the end of the tightly-fought contest. The Llamados improved their record to 3-4, boosting their hopes of making the playoffs. The team has been missing the services of key players due to injuries — two-time MVP James Yap (calf injury), Jonas Villanueva (ankle), Rico Mairehofer (knee), Jondan Salvador (knee), Don Allado (heel) and Raffi Reavis (foot). Simon finished with 20 points, next to the team-high 26 of outgoing import Shamari Spears. Simon had a chance to win the game in regulation, but missed on a potential game-winning jump shot at the buzzer. “We made the big plays in the end. We just kept it close," Derby Ace coach Jorge Gallent said later. “Had we lost, our chances of making the playoffs would have been slim. It became 50-50 now." The Derby Ace mentor said Spears may likely be replaced by Courtney Beasley when the Llamados face San Miguel Beer on Sunday. Mark Pingris had 19 rebounds and 18 points while Kerby Raymundo added 17 points and 12 boards. With their first loss after five games, he Nationals now share the lead with sister team Talk `N Text (5-1). Smart Gilas absorbed the setback in the absence of Marcus Douthit, who had to sit out the final 23 minutes of the game after spraining his ankle with 5:27 left in the third period. The 6-foot-11 naturalized Filipino landed on the foot of KG Canaleta after connecting on a basket and getting fouled by Pingris for a 54-48 Smart Gilas lead. “If Douthit was there, mahihirapan kami," Gallent admitted. “He’s a big factor. Even if he doesn’t block shots, his presence is very intimidating." But even in the absence of their big man, the Nationals remained very much in the game. Mac Baracael answered Simon’s basket in overtime, and following a corner jumper by Spears, JV Casio scored on a lay-up to complete a Chris Tiu interception for a 93-90 Derby Ace lead. Canaleta then sank a dagger three-pointer from the right corner to stretch the Llamados’ lead to six in the final 53.1 seconds. Following a bungled lay-up by Tiu, Pingris settled the outcome by connecting on a follow-up basket, 98-90. Baracael finished with 19 points to lead Pilipinas-Smart Gilas, which led by as many as 10 at 63-53. Tiu added 16, while Douthit was held to only 14 points and eight rebounds after averaging 21.8 points and 19.4 rebounds in the team’s first five outings. - KY, RCJ, GMA News