LA, BARAKO BULL SHARE SPOTLIGHT
A point guard who is fresh from a stint with World Cup-bound Gilas Pilipinas came through with his finest performance ever in the PBA. A team which created a stir this season picked up its second straight win under a new coach while another squad with a rather so-so showing the past two conferences is now making its presence felt.
HITS
LA Tenorio – No question the past week belonged to the cool and calculating guard who played his best PBA game ever Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome. Tenorio finished with a career-high 34 points while steering the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings to the win column.
Barako Bull – Few have noticed how this team has inched its way up the standings. The Energy have won back-to-back games, including an emotional 103-94 win over the Air21 Express Sunday that saw coaches Franz Pumaren and Rajko Toroman exchanging words right after the game.
Mike Singletary – For two games this conference, this import scored 40 or more. He has been in the country for some time now and his familiarity with the team and the system is reaping dividends. Singletary finished with 41 points in the game against the Express, grabbed 12 rebounds and completed two steals.
Petron Blaze – Playing under a new coach, the Boosters were expected to be a team in transition. But Gee Abanilla has been in the Petron camp the past couple of seasons that he knows almost everyone of his players – their strengths and their weaknesses. After losing its first game, the team bounced back strong with three quick wins, including a dominating performance against erstwhile leader Rain or Shine, 99-84, last August 23.
GlobalPort – Very rare do we see this team up there in the team standings, if ever. But for the young franchise of Mikee Romero, being on top is a luxury at this stage. After two conferences they’d rather not remember, the Batang Pier have won two of their first three games, including a big one against Commissioner’s Cup titlist Alaska last time out. Should GlobalPort hang on, it will be headed to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
Marc Pingris – It’s pretty obvious what San Mig Coffee lacked in the first two games which the team both lost. Energy, hustle and effort seemed to be lacking. And the Coffee Mixers just couldn’t get the right mix to put up a good game. With Marc Pingris back, everything fell in the right places for San Mig Coffee as the dynamic forward not only provided the intangibles, but also put up solid numbers of 23 points and eight rebounds, enough to carry his team to the win column.
James Yap – In his first two games, there was no better word to describe James Yap than struggling. He went 2-of-24 from the field in those two games. But enough of the shooting slump. The two-time Most Valuable Player was back firing deadly missiles against Talk N Text, hitting 8-of-13 shots from the field and finishing with 21 points in what was easily his best game so far this conference.
MISSES
Meralco – Power shortage has struck the Bolts anew. For two games, Meralco lost the energy supply that can generate victory. They lost to the Kings Saturday after failing to contain Tenorio and lost previously to the Energy in a gut-wrenching match. At 1-2, the Bolts have found themselves in the lower half of the standings after a promising start.
Gabe Norwood – He was regarded as Mr. Intangibles during his stint with Gilas Pilipinas, but Gabe Norwood has yet to recapture his usual steady form with Rain or Shine. An important piece in the Elasto Painters’ rotation, Norwood’s defensive game is still there, but his offensive game is nowhere to be found. He missed all of his six shots in his team’s loss to Petron Blaze, finishing with only two points.
Alaska – Call it championship hangover, but Alaska was stunned by a determined GlobalPort Batang Pier squad in its first time out this conference. The Aces failed to contain their rivals’ three-point shooting as the Batang Pier came through with 11 treys for a 44-percent shooting. The Aces also hit only 14 of their free throws for a paltry 46.7% clip. Good for coach Luigi Trillo and his charges, they bounced back with a big win in their next assignment.
Marqus Blakely’s free throw shooting – There seems to be no end to the San Mig Coffee import’s free throw shooting woes. Blakely is now going 19-of-56 from the foul line for an atrocious 33.9% shooting. This could pose as a problem in tight endgames. (RJ)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
