PETRON BLAZE ROLLS PAST SAN MIG COFFEE
Upset on opening day, Petron Blaze came back to fashion out the first lopsided game in the tourney.
Petron Blaze shrugged off its poor debut against Globalport Friday, dishing out a high-octane performance to rout San Mig Coffee, 98-73, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.
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.
The Boosters, however, got back hard at the Mixers, dominating their rematch from the get-go to the finish.
“Masyadong malaki agad ang nilamang namin sa first half. That’s the big difference,” said Racela. “Of course, malaking tulong din yung ngitngit sa talo namin sa Globalport.”
Balkman was in complete focus, showing up Matt Rogers with 28 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal.
Rogers, finally debuting with San Mig Coffee after being hit by food poisoning on the eve of their conference debut versus Barako Bull, made 20 points on 7-of-19 field shooting.
Jay Washington and Alex Cabagnot backed up Balkman with 17 and 15, respectively, while Marcio Lassiter marked his return with Petron with nine points on 3-of-5 three-pointers.
James Yap top scored for the losing team with 25 points even as he hobbled to the bench in the closing minutes.
Petron hit at a 47.5-percent clip while holding San Mig Coffee down to 29.4 percent as the Boosters broke the game wide open right at the turn at 48-22.
The Boosters pummelled the Mixers hard in the second quarter, limiting San Mig to four field-goal conversions while making 11 of their own plus three charities.
Balkman outscored the whole San Mig Coffee team, 10-8, in the second period on a 5-of-7 field shooting that went with five rebounds and two assists.
The Mixers were into the game just in the early goings, engaging the Boosters through four dead locks and two lead changes.
Rogers and Yap combined for 13 points in the first quarter then floundered with their team in the next period, converting only 25 percent of their shots compared to Petron’s hot 57.9-percent clip. (SB)
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