BARAKO BULL SHUTS DOWN GLOBALPORT IN OT FOR EARLY SOLO LEAD
Barako Bull gave team consultant Rajko Toroman a most fitting birthday gift by way of a 98-88 overtime win over Globalport Sunday which gave the Energy Cola the early solo lead in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Led by Danny Seigle’s five points, Barako Bull outscored the Batang Pier 12-2 in the extra period for a fitting follow-up to its 79-75 win over defending champion San Mig Coffee last Friday, giving the Energy Cola their best start in a conference since they also went 2-0 to start the 2009 Fiesta Conference when they were still known as Burger King.
“It was a great win for us. We showed character out there even though our players are still adjusting to a new system. Great win for us especially since its been a while since Barako Bull was in this position,” said Toroman who turned 58 Sunday.
Barako Bull, which shot 13 of 40 from three-point range and had a 21-8 edge in points off turnovers, continued to win despite playing with just nine men as a result of injuries to JC Intal, Rico Villanueva, Sean Anthony, Celino Cruz, Roger Yap and rookie Eman Monfort.
It was actually a come-from-behind win for the Energy Cola who were trailing 86-76 with 1:59 left in regulation before scoring 10 unanswered points capped by a Mark Macapagal trey with 1.1 seconds left, sending the game into OT.
Then in overtime, Barako Bull’s defense got going, limiting Globalport to just 1-of-6 from the field and forcing the Batang Pier into three turnovers while Seigle presided over on offense.
Import Evan Brock played his best game on Philippine soil to the tune of 25 points and 18 rebounds to lead Barako Bull while Josh Urbiztondo added 24 points build around six triples while adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Jonas Villanueva also played huge with his 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals while Seigle ended up with 16 — both players coming off the bench.
Going down the drain for Globalport was Japeth Aguilar’s 23 points and 10 rebounds, import Justin Williams’ season-high 27 rebounds which came with 12 points and Sol Mercado’s career-high 16 assists which he added with 19 points. (FM)
The scores:
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