Kerby Raymundo Stars as Purefoods TJ Giants Smash San Miguel Beermen
Photo Credit: hoops.blink.ph
Slowly but surely, the San Miguel Beermen are fading away from its old winning form that brought them this far this conference as they lost a heart-breaking ballgame against the wounded Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, 84-83.
With no clear go-to-guy to take charge during crunch time, the San Miguel Beermen lost an opportunity to score in an offensive play that could give them the win or at least force the game into overtime if Purefoods sinks a triple. The worst thing that they have done is a defensive lapse in the final play where bigman Mick Pennisi forgot about his man, Enrico Villanueva, in trying to help out in defending Kerby Raymundo.
This type of loss reminds us of the loss of Danny Seigle and Marc Pingris due to injuries. Danny Seigle could have took charge during that offensive play and Marc Pingris could have defended well against Kerby Raymundo. By the way, Kerby Raymundo feasted in the three-point region sinking one triple after the other after Jay Washington and Dorian Pena failed to contain him.
With the way things are going, it’s clear that the San Miguel Beermen should learn how to win close games. Gone are the days that they can lead big points heading into the fourth quarter. Can the San Miguel Beermen still maintain the second spot in the team standings? That remains to be seen on its next games where the only option is to win as the opposition are already catching up.
Enough of the story-telling. The Philippine Basketball Association (pba.ph) provides the full hearth-breaking story.
VILLANUEVA LIFTS PUREFOODS PAST SMB
Giants arrest 2-game skid
Sunday, November 23, 2008Still struggling with injuries to key players, the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants got one big push on one big shot by Enrico Villanueva against the San Miguel Beermen.
Villanueva scored on a left-handed shot underneath the basket on an assist by Kerby Raymundo in the dying seconds as the Giants squeaked past the Beermen, 84-83, in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Astrodome Sunday night.
"We’ve been struggling and win like this is definitely a welcome development. This is one big push towards our goal of still making it to the top," said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.
"Ang hirap manalo sa tournament na ito. Manalo ka nang isa, para ka nang nag-champion. All our wins are like this — buzzer-beater or overtime. We’re playing hurt. The good thing is that the guys are just keeping on fighting," Gregorio also said.
Still playing minus Peter June Simon and Roger Yap and with James Yap half-healthy, the Giants gutted it out to notch their sixth win against seven losses.
Villanueva came through with a double-double game and emerged the Giants’ biggest hero by converting the winning basket just before the final buzzer sounded.
The Purefoods mentor actually designed the play for Raymundo as they got possession following a 24-second violation by the San Miguel Beermen with only 5.7 ticks left to play.
Attracting a double-team defense, Kerby Raymundo had the presence of mind in handing the ball to Villanueva who quickly took the shot breaking the heart of the Beermen.
Dondon Hontiveros had his own big shot earlier, making a tough fade-away off Yap to push the Beermen ahead at 83-82 with 34.7 seconds left to play.
The Beermen appeared already headed for the win when Mick Pennisi drew an offensive foul from Yap in the ensuing play.
Alas, the San Miguel Beermen broke down in their final offensive thrust and in their final defensive stance, thus, suffering a third straight loss and their fifth in 12 games in all.
"This is a big win considering we got it against one of the elite teams in the league right now," said Gregorio.
Despite the loss, the Beermen remained at second place, two games behind the pace-setting Alaska Milk Aces. At joint third are Air21 and Sta. Lucia at 6-5.
Kerby Raymundo led all scorers with 25 points while Villanueva finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
San Miguel was paced by Lordy Tugade and Dorian Pena with 18 and 17, respectively. (NC)
The scores:
Purefoods 84 — Raymundo 25, Villanueva 12, Aban 11, Belga 10, Yap 7, Robinson 6, Lanete 5, Bugia 5, Alvarez 3, Fernandez 0.
San Miguel 83 — Tugade 18, Pena 17, Custodio 13, Washington 13, Hontiveros 9, Villanueva 5, Racela 5, Gonzales 3, Eman 0, Calaguio 0, Pennisi 0.
Quarterscores: 18-16, 45-38, 64-63, 84-83
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November 24th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
hay naku. Ano na ba itong nangyari sa san miguel beermen? Imbes na mag-improve yong mga laro ng mga bigmen nila especially c dorian pena at mick pennisi thru the hiring of a foreign skills coach, naging worse man? Di na talaga pagpalaruin c danny seigle?
November 24th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Beermen wake up! Bring yourselves to the winning form. Fire shot tanquincen otherwise the fans will fire him out.