rabeh-al-hussaini-petron-vs-ginebra
Photo Credit: Arvin Lim

June 19, 2011 – Rabeh Al-Hussaini is slowly showing his worth in the Petron Blaze Boosters uniform as he lead the team in beating crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra Kings, 100-89, with a 21 points and 7 rebounds performance at the Araneta Coliseum of the 2011 PBA Governors’ Cup.

Al-Hussaini virtually took Yancy De Ocampo to school with his left hooks as he catches fire in the fourth quarter. Import Jeremy Wise also waxed hot in the fourth quarter after being shackled by the Ginebra defense in the first half of the ball game.

Ginebra jumped the gun on the Boosters in the first quarter behind the hot shooting hands of Curtis Stinson. In the second quarter, Petron got Stinson in check and threw in sticky defense to Ginebra that enabled it to wipe away Ginebra’s lead at the close of the first half at 49-all.

Worth mentioning in this contest is the heck of a game played by veteran center Mick Pennisi who showed a rejuvenated game – sinking threes, posting up, getting offensive rebounds, and showing us his patented “slow-mo” drives to the basket.

Overall, its a good game played by the Boosters despite missing key players in Jay Washington, Danny Ildefonso, Nonoy Baclao, and Denok Miranda to various injuries. Beating a good team like Ginebra is tough and the win showed indications that the team can now compete with the rest of the teams in this conference.

The Scores:
Petron Blaze Boosters 100 – Wise 21, Al-Hussaini 21, Pennisi 14, Santos 13, Cabagnot 11, Tugade 9, Salvacion 5, Duncil 2, Yeo 2, Hubalde 2, Guevarra 0.

Barangay Ginebra Kings 89 – Stinson 22, Caguioa 17, Intal 15, Cortez 12, De Ocampo 8, Miller 5, Wilson 4, Rodriguez 3, Tubid 2, Wilson 1, Menk 0.