Petron Blaze Boosters Basketball Updates

Photo Credit: PBA.PH

May 2, 2010 – Down by 18 points in the third quarter and things not going their way, the San Miguel Beermen did not back down and turned to their most seasoned veteran Olsen Racela to stage a furious comeback, 80-72 against the defense-oriented BMEG Derby Ace Llamados.

Derby Ace built the huge 18-point lead behind the many turn overs of the San Miguel Beermen coupled with Gabe Freeman getting his fourth foul early in the third quarter. With the impending loss looming in his very eyes, San Miguel Beermen coach Siot Tanquingcen pulled a surprise package in Olsen Racela and Joseph Yeo. Olsen brought back stability in the game and orchestrated major plays. Yeo, on the other hand; broke Derby Ace’s defense by slashing into the middle. Together, the two allowed the Beermen to reduce the 18-point lead into just 9 going into the fourth quarter.

The Beermen used the same ploy in the fourth quarter and slowly, they were able to get into the game and grab the lead around halfway in the fourth quarter. Coach Siot opted to go for the 3-guard combo and it worked wonders as BMEG struggled to get things going committing one turn over after the other.

After San Miguel took the lead, Alex Cabagnot took charge by sinking crucial drives to the basket and draining important free throws. Derby Ace Llamados was lead by their main man James Yap with 20 points but he failed to sink crucial free throws and shots after being bothered by a knee pain after a collission with Gabe Freeman. This is the only time that Cabagnot breaks lose after being shackled by the stingy defense of Derby Ace in the first three quarters.

Jay Washington was chosen as the Best Player of the Game with new season-high 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 7/7 FT. He scored 14 of the 18 points of the Beermen in the first quater alone.

The game was highly physical due to the way the players played defense. Some highlights of the game include the thunderous follow up dunk of Gabe Freeman coupled with taunting looks at the Derby Ace bench. He was called for a technical. Another spectacular moves to watch out are the ninja-slashing moves of Joseph Yeo.

Import Gabe Freeman played with fewer minutes after being hobbled with foul troubles. He sit most of the third quarter after getting an early fourth personal foul. In spite of this, the locals deserve credits for playing well as an All-Filipino in that crucial stretch where they were cutting on the huge lead.

Full news story from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA.PH) is found below:

NO STOPPING THE BEERMEN

Sun, 05/02/2010 – 23:04

There’s still no stopping San Miguel although the Beermen battled without an import almost half of the way versus the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados Sunday.

With Olsen Racela and Joseph Yeo providing the spark and energy coming off the bench in the third quarter, tournament leader San Miguel fought back from 18-points deficits and upended B-MEG Derby Ace, 80-72, in the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Jay Washington, Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot put the finishing touches as San Miguel made it six in a row to improve its overall win-loss record to 7-1. For the second straight game, Washington put in a personal season best with 25 points. Santos and Cabagnot scored 10 points each, combining for 12 in the fourth quarter. The Llamados failed to sustain a bristling first half and suffered a third loss in six starts.

“Olsen and Joseph Yeo made the big difference in this game. We’re given a big lift by our bench, especially Olsen. Ang gulo ng takbo ng laro namin noong una. Binigyan nya kami ng order and calmness noong pumasok sya,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“We settled down after Olsen and Joseph came in. And somehow, we’re able to carry that through,” Tanquingcen added.

Trailing by 18 at 41-59 and 43-61, the Beermen, after a long chase, finally surged ahead at 67-66 on a breakaway layup by Washington with 5:39 left to play. Then Santos and Cabagnot took over, allowing the Beermen to even win with plenty to spare.

Committing four early fouls, Freeman played only 28 minutes and produced just 11 points and eight rebounds. Nonetheless, the Beermen never gave up, riding high on the exploits of Washington, Santos, Cabagnot, Racela and Yeo as they spoiled Cliff Brown’s debut as new Derby Ace import.

“Brown has made Derby Ace an even more formidable rebounding power. Pati sya energetic din, bagay na bagay sa Derby Ace,” said Tanquingcen. “But of course, medyo kakapa-kapa pa sya dahil first game pa lang. He’s not yet familiar with his teammates,” Tanquingcen added.

Brown, taking over from Lorenzo Wade, got 15 points and 14 rebounds in his initial game in the local pro league. James Yap, Paul Artadi and Nino Canaleta played good music with Brown as the Llamados took control early on and sat on a 46-36 cushion at halftime. (SB)

The scores:

San Miguel 80 – Washington 25, Freeman 11, Santos 10, Cabagnot 10, Yeo 6, Ildefonso 6, Racela 5, Hontiveros 4, Pena 2, Villanueva 1, Miranda 0, Pennisi 0.

Derby Ace 72 – Yap J. 20, Brown 15, Artadi 8, Canaleta 6, Simon 6, Pingris 6, Allado 5, Maierhofer 4, Reavis 2, Yap R. 0. Quarterscores: 18-24, 36-46, 54-63, 80-72