PETRON STOPS SKID WITH HARD-EARNED WIN
With June Mar Fajardo sidelined by a knee injury, Petron Blaze ably held the fort versus Talk n Text, making an impressive 30-point turnaround before completing a crucial 105-91 victory in the PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Saturday night.
The quartet of Marcio Lassiter, Arwind Santos, Chris Lutz and Alex Cabagnot led the Boosters’ tough stand that saw them erase an early 15-point deficit and erect a 15-point lead before eventually stopping their two-game skid as well as the Tropang Texters’ three-game streak.
The Boosters started to hit their stride in the second quarter and built momentum in the third quarter en route to pulling off an eighth win against two losses.
They stayed a game behind the Barangay Ginebra Kings (9-1) while the Tropang Texters lost some more ground on the leaders as they fell to joint third with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at 6-3.
“We just did a better defensive job in the second half,” said Petron coach Gee Abanilla. “In the first half, we allowed them to shoot three-point shots. Larry Fonacier was 3-of-4 while Ranidel (de Ocampo) was perfect from the two-point zone.”
The amiable Petron mentor also thought they’ve made the right adjustments without Fajardo.
“It’s really different without June Mar. We found a way to win tonight and hopefully we can build on it. We’re not sure how long June Mar will be out,” Abanilla said.
The Boosters needed a complete team effort to nail their first win minus their 6-foot-10 giant.
Lassiter fired three treys and a total of 22 points, Cabagnot delivered a double-double with 12 markers and 10 dish-outs while Santos, Lutz, Doug Kramer and the comebacking Ronald Tubid had their near double-double contributions.
Santos churned out 19 points and nine rebounds, Lutz chimed in 16 markers and eight boards while Kramer and Tubid both produced 10 caroms and eight points.
Jayson Castro and Fonacier led the losing team with 23 and 19 points, respectively. They laced their productions with a combined 6-of-12 three-point shooting.
The Texters banked on good outside shooting as they dominated the first 24 minutes of play, taking the first quarter at 27-17 and the half at 52-45.
But sustaining the fire of their mini-romp late in the second quarter, the Boosters surged ahead, 76-62, in the third period, then they simply refused to look back.
Petron initially gained the upper hand at 54-53 on a 9-1 run from the halftime break.
The Texters regained the lead at 57-54 on four straight free throws by Castro but then the Boosters worked on a massive attack to pull away for good towards the end of the third.
Drawing decent effort practically from all their players, the Boosters had a relatively easy time protecting the lead till the end. (SB)
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