ON A SEARING ROLL
Two teams are on a roll. One player who spent most of his first two seasons battling with injuries is now coming to his own as the team’s lead swingman. A talented forward has finally found a home with his new team while an import refused to be slowed down by flu and put on a sterling performance.
HITS
Petron Blaze – Eight games and counting. The Boosters are still on a hot streak, and yes, they are now showing everyone they’re not just good on paper this time.
San Mig Coffee – Like hot coffee, the Mixers unraveled their A-Game. They have won four straight games to improve their record to 5-3, and this includes playing two games without vital cogs on the bench.
Now the Coffee Mixers are back in contention and coach Tim Cone and his troops are looking every bit like championship contenders.
Marcio Lassiter – The sophomore, former Gilas standout is showing his full potential. After a series of injuries in his first two seasons, Marcio Lassiter is now becoming the Boosters’ main man at the wings.
In the last two games, he averaged 18.5 points and shot a combined 6-of-10 from the three-point region, numbers that were enough to propel him to Player of the Week honors.
Allein Maliksi – It’s not easy to shine in San Mig Coffee’s star-studded roster. With James Yap, PJ Simon and Joe Devance usually sharing the scoring limelight, one could imagine how difficult it is for the former University of Santo Tomas and inaugural PBA D-League Most Valuable Player to fit into the structured system of Tim Cone.
But Maliksi is born to score and in just a few games with the Coffee Mixers, he quickly blended well with the team. He averaged 17 points per game in the team’s last two wins, including solid numbers of 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in his team’s 81-77 win over Barako Bull last Sept. 14, extending the Mixers’ winning streak to four.
Elijah Millsap – He’s been regarded as a silent but effective worker, but on Sunday night, the brother of Utah Jazz forward Paul Millsap was simply awesome despite being under the weather.
Elijah’s triple-double performance of 18 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists were huge numbers, enough to inspire the rest of the Boosters to perform above expectations.
MISSES
Talk N Text – For a team that has become synonymous to winning, TNT is staring at a possible losing conference.
With four straight losses, the Tropang Texters have found themselves in an unfamiliar position at the bottom of the pack. It will take a gargantuan effort for the team to make a solid urn at the Governors’ Cup crown this late.
Tony Mitchell – The Tropang Texters realized that the problem isn’t just their overworked local players who were loaned to the national squad.
Later on, the team realized that the weakest link was import Tony Mitchell, a deadweight on defense who was sent packing after failing to lead his team to victory.
Mitchell was undoubtedly a scorer, but not the type of player who can inspire his teammates for a run to the top.
Willie Miller – His minutes are down and so as his numbers. Averaging only 10.5 minutes per game, the two-time Most Valuable Player has scored only three points in each of the last two games the GlobalPort Batang Pier played.
Whether the “Thriller” can still deliver as a reliever remains to be seen. (RJ)
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