DOLLARD STARS IN BREAKTHROUGH BARAKO BULL WIN OVER RAIN OR SHINE
ADMITTEDLY, Josh Dollard still has a lot of room for improvement.
Barako Bull is doing just fine as he is now.
Dollard scored a game-high 44 points in leading the Energy to a 110-106 victory over Rain or Shine Sunday in the PLDT myDSL PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Energy’s replacement import took full charge in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his points in acting out the role of a one-man wrecking crew that fully charged Barako Bull’s drive from an 82-83 deficit and into a 105-97 spread.
The momentum provided by Dollard was enough as Rain or Shine gallantly tried to overcome the deficit through Paul Lee, Jeff Chan, Beau Belga and a fouling spree, but the Energy still hung on by going 5-for-6 from the stripe inside the last 1:28, enough to keep the Elasto Painters at bay.
It was a bitter loss for Rain or Shine, which got off to a fine start and seemed well on its way to launching its mid-season campaign on a very bright note after opening up a 42-26 lead in the second period.
It turned out Dollard was just pacing himself, unlike when he went flat-out from the get-go en route to a 45-point game but a 104-108 loss to Barangay Ginebra last Friday.
“Hindi pa niya kuha ang lahat ng plays namin,” related Barako Bull head coach Bong Ramos of Dollard. “Kaya I told him that when you get the ball and there’s no one to pass to then just attack the basket.”
Dollard did just that and in the end converted half of his 26 field goal attempts, missed just four of his 21 free throw tries and spiked his performance with 19 rebounds. Not bad at all for the smallest import in the conference at 6-4 9/16.
Aside from the win being Barako Bull’s first in the conference, it was also the Energy’s first win over the Elasto Painters in eight meetings over the last seven conferences.
Alex McLean led Rain or Shine with 21 points and 16 rebounds and four locals had at least 10 points each.
Still, the entire E-Painters crew was left wallowing in the wake of Dollard’s explosion, a glimpse of which was readily had in the second period when he scattered 13 points to bring the Energy within 46-53.
Ronjay Buenafe scored all of his 11 points in the third period and Mick Pennisi added two triples, but Dollard notched eight of his own as Barako caught up and even briefly pulled ahead 78-72.
Both Dollard and Ramos said things should be better once the man who has just been here two weeks after replacing original choice Wayne Chism becomes familiar with the Barako Bull system. Chism was let go after having contractual problems with his Hungarian ballclub.
“Limited pa lang ang nagagawa niya because he’s not used to playing with a lot of options at kami marami kaming options. Sometimes he gets confused,” related Ramos. “Pero iyung pagkalimot niya ng plays, blessing na din. Kasi kapag ‘di niya alam, gumagawa siya ng paraan.”
Willie Miller, hardly utilized at all in the Ginebra game, came off the bench to score 19 points while Denok Miranda added 13 for Barako.
JR Quinahan did not suit up due to a right knee injury, but Jonathan Uyloan gave a good account of himself with nine points, all in the third quarter that enabled Rain or Shine go into the fourth frame with a 79-all standoff. (NC)
The scores:
BARAKO 110 – Dollard 44, Miller 19, Miranda 13, Buenafe 11, Pennisi 9, Intal 7, Lastimosa 2, Wilson 2, Marcelo 2, Isip 1, Jensen 0, Fortuna 0, Pena 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 106 – McLean 21, Lee 15, Chan 14, Belga 11, Norwood 10, Uyloan 9, Almazan 9, Tiu 5, Arana 4, Rodriguez 4, Cruz 2, Nuyles 2, Tang 0, Teng 0, Ibanes 0.
Quarterscores: 22-24, 46-53, 79-79, 110-106
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