HILL IN FAREWELL GAME AS WINLESS KINGS FACE BOOSTERS
With import replacement Vernon Macklin in transit, Barangay Ginebra plays Herbert Hill for one last time versus Petron Blaze Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Kings hope to finally get their act together and pull off a win before eventually sending home their original reinforcement.
Hill and the Kings dropped their first two games in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, bowing to the Air21 Express, 70-74, Sunday and then yielding to the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 80-89, Friday.
Worse, the Kings face a tougher assignment in the Boosters while still awaiting the arrival of Macklin. Thus, Hill gets one more chance to make a good impression before packing his bags.
The 52nd pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 2011 NBA Draft, Macklin is flying in on Monday, recruited from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA D-League.
The Portsmouth, Virginia native is listed as a 6-foot-10, 227-pound center/forward who had stints with the Georgetown Hoyas and the Florida Gators in college ball. He averaged 11.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in his senior year with coach Billy Donovan’s Gators team.
While awaiting the arrival of Macklin, the Kings hope to draw a good farewell performance from Hill as they take on Renaldo Balkman and the Boosters at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Upset on opening day, Petron Blaze came back strong in its next game, routing San Mig Coffee, 98-78, Wednesday.
The Boosters got off to a flying start and hardly slowed down in a no-nonsense game, getting them to the win column after their 92-94 upset by the Batang Pier.
“It’s a good bounce-back win for us after that frustrating game against GlobalPort. It’s more of the intangibles that we showed in the game – the hustle, the intensity, the effort,” said Petron coach Olsen Racela.
“We just played together,” said Renaldo Balkman, himself bouncing back strong from a mediocre game to help the Boosters beat the very team that eliminated them in the recent Philippine Cup.
San Mig Coffee, then with a twice-to-beat advantage, ousted Petron Blaze, 92-87, in one game in their quarterfinals showdown.
Balkman was in complete focus, showing up Matt Rogers with 28 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal.
Jay Washington and Alex Cabagnot backed up Balkman with 17 and 15 points, respectively, while Marcio Lassiter marked his return to active duty with nine points on 3-of-5 three-pointers. (SB)
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