BATANG PIER, ENERGY COLA EYE FOLLOWUP ACT
BY INITIALLY setting modest goals for themselves GlobalPort and Barako Bull reaped handsome rewards.
Now comes the tricky part.
A followup to their man-sized upsets on opening day and solo leadership await the Batang Pier and Energy Cola when they tangle Sunday (4:15) in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Realizing their twin goals this early in the tournament pales to the what the other teams have previously scaled, but would be an achievement in itself for the same teams which wound up at or near the bottom of the season-opening Philippine Cup.
Especially GlobalPort, which would have been content to emerge from the weekend with a 1-1 win-loss slate but now seems poised to come out of it with double the number of victories it notched during its sorry maiden conference.
“Two wins would be ideal but we can readily live with a 1-1 record,” quipped Batang Pier coach Junel Baculi.
“We just have to keep on doing what we’re doing right while continuing to improve as a whole, as a team, in the process.”
GlobalPort did show stark improvement in its game when it upended Petron Blaze, 94-92, last Friday despite the ejection of import Justin Williams early in the third quarter.
The likes of Gary David, Sol Mercado and Japeth Aguilar pooled their efforts together in the endgame, enabling the Batang Pier to pull off their first win over the Boosters in three official meetings.
David scattered 12 of his gamehigh 28 points in the fourth quarter, Mercado wound up with 17 points and 11 assists and Aguilar 16 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals in making up for the absence of Williams, who had 18 points, 15 rebounds, three blocked shots and as many assists before getting tossed due to an F2, still 8:18 left in the third quarter.
Baculi said the win, no matter how satisfying, is still not a clear indication of what the team should be. “Lots of jelling to do,” he said. “We cannot rely on individual talent. We’ve got to build chemistry.”
Playing as a cohesive unit is also foremost on the mind of Barako, although the Energy Cola stuck together in the stretches that mattered most in pulling the rug from under defending champion San Mig Coffee, 79-75, later Friday.
Although the Mixers played minus import Matt Rogers, who was hospitalized on the eve of the match due to a suspected case of food poisoning, little could be taken away from Barako, which had Sean Anthony, JC Intal, Celino Cruz, Roger Yap and Emman Monfort sidelined by an assortment of injuries.
Yet the likes of reinforcement Evan Brock and former San Mig/B-Meg players Jonas Villanueva and Josh Urbiztondo ably held the fort for the Energy Cola in the low-scoring but still exciting game.
“We won by defense and that’s a great way to begin,” said Barako active consultant Rajko Toroman, adding more work needs to be done within the team.
“A lot of things are new. We need time to put everything in the right spot,” he stated. (NC)
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