SMBeer survives hot Air21
By Nelson Beltran (The Philippine Star) Updated March 25, 2010 12:00 AM

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Coke’s Chito Lanete squeezes in a baseline drive against Barako Bull’s import Sammy Monroe. JUN MENDOZA
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MANILA, Philippines - Jay Washington nailed two free throws and blocked a three-point shot by Beau Belga in the last 16 seconds of play as San Miguel Beer bucked Gabe Freeman’s early exit on fouls to edge Air21, 92-87, in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Alex Cabagnot, a former Sta. Lucia Realtor, Coke Tiger and BK Whopper, made a decent debut in a San Miguel uniform, piling up 13 points and six assists to help the Beermen start their title-retention bid on a winning note.

Freeman had produced 23 points and 19 rebounds when he fouled out with still 2:22 left and San Miguel ahead by only five at 86-81.

Air21 threatened at 87-88 but San Miguel pulled through on key plays by Washington and Cabagnot in the closing seconds.

The Express put up a tough challenge with Keena Young delivering 23 points and 21 rebounds and local teammates Ronjay Buenafe and Belga adding double-digit outputs.

Earlier, James Penny marked another return stint in the local pro league with a near triple-double job, and Coca-Cola got off to rousing start with a 97-74 whipping of Barako Energy Coffee.

Penny led a vicious Coca-Cola attack in the fourth quarter giving the Tigers an auspicious debut in the tourney where they finished eighth the last time.

The former Texas Christian U star churned out 27 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to prove he’s as dependable as ever.

He’s in his fourth tour of duty in the PBA after leading Red Bull to the championship in 2006 then to a third-place finish the following year before moving over to Coca-Cola last season. He has PBA career averages of 24.6 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.7 blocks.

“I’m back and I intend to win. Our team is looking pretty good,” said Penny.

“We challenged James, and he responded well. I told him we need him to be a scorer,” said Coca-Cola coach Bo Perasol.

“I also told him that they (other teams and fans) are not talking about him. They are talking about the other imports but we believe that he’s the best,” Perasol added.

Penny had back-to-back slams touching off a decisive assault that opened an 84-64 bulge for the Tigers.

Gary David, Asi Taulava and Norman Gonzales put in tremendous help offensively while RJ Rizada had a big hand on the defensive end.

Sammy Monroe, who erupted for 39 points in a triumphant debut versus Sta. Lucia on opening day, was held down to 25 this time, going 0-of-6 in the field while guarded by Rizada.

David fired 17 points, Taulava tossed in 11 while Gonzales added nine, all coming in the payoff period.

The Tigers, seventh placers in the recent Philippine Cup, took command early, leading by 15 points, 42-27, at the half, but the Coffee Masters waged a fierce chase to come to within four in the third quarter.

Barako was still within striking distance at 60-67 before Penny, Gonzales, David and Taulava combined in a sizzling run to rip the game wide open, 82-63.

Coca-Cola took double-digit spreads right in the first quarter and enjoyed a lead as many as 17 in the second period.

The scores:

First Game

Coca-Cola 97 — Penny 27, David 17, Taulava 11, Gonzales 9, Lanete 6, Rizada 6, Espino 6, Macapagal 5, Bono 4, Allera 3, Cruz 2, Ross 1, Rodriguez 0.

Barako Coffee 74 — Monroe 25, Alonzo 10, Vergara 6, Aljamal 6, Dimaunahan 6, Wainwright 6, Najorda 5, Menor 4, Duncil 4, Reyes 2, Gaco 0, Faundo 0, Hubalde 0.

Quarterscores: 20-12, 42-27, 65-53, 97-74

Second Game

San Miguel 92 – Freeman 23, Washington 19, Cabagnot 13, Peña 12, Pennisi 9, Santos 4, Hontiveros 4, Yeo 3, Miranda 3, Villanueva 2, Ildefonso 0.

Air21 87 – Young 23, Buenafe 13, Belga 12, Matias 9, Ritualo 8, Kramer 4, Sharma 4, Alvarez 4, Gonzales 4, Williams 3, Cortez 3, Billones 0, Yee 0.

Quarterscores: 21-20, 44-39, 70-62, 92-87


source: By Nelson Beltran (The Philippine Star) Updated March 25, 2010 12:00 AM

Good that SMB wins but too bad that DS, Lordy and even Olsen were not fielded in the game. I know this conference every team can field up to 13 players due to the presence of the import. Siot only use 11 players. He has the habit of using 10-11 players only every game. If this trend continues, DS, Lordy and Olsen will have "now you see, now you dont" appearance on the court. Jonas minutes also was taken away by Cabagnot. I cant understand also why Denok get to play a lot of minutes than Jonas and Yeo. I hope Siot will dig deeper into his bench to keep all his players in game shape. So that when the time comes that he need them to play, they can deliver.

bro moymoy,injured pa sina ds at lordy kaya di sila ginamit ni kowts siot,and sinasanay naman si olsen sa pagiging asst kowts kaya ganun.sama nga ng laro ni arwind,parang nangangapa sya sa pwesto nya ngayon,buti na lang mainit ang laro ni ga be,at kitang kita na nag eexperiment na naman si kowts siot sa rotation nya,sana lang matapos kagad baka semis na experiment pa rin ginagawa nya

----oo nga bakit mas mahaba yung playing time ni denok....hmmmmmmm..

mas ukei kaya si jonas...

sana makapaglaro na si tugade at seigle..

----siguro nag aadjust pa rin sila ngayon...

Ganun ba pareng Bhong. Mukhang Santos is ineffective coming off the bench. He was a starter all his life. He needs to be in the starting five para mag init kagad. I know Jay Wash is a great scorer also but I see him come the bench and still delivers. I also dont like the idea in putting Denok in starting five in liue of Dondon. Denok is a role player that why he must come off the bench when the time cames where in pagod na ang kalaban. He and Yeo can also ignite our run pag nilabas na si Jonas and Dondon. Ngaun ko lang din na appreciate ang laro ni Cabagnot. He really has a high basketball IQ. No forced shot and not always looking to score. Yun ang pagkakaiba nya kela Denok at Mike Cortez. I just hope Jonas minutes will not suffer so much with the addition of Cabagnot.

bro moymoy,si denok na kasi ang bagong fafa ni kowts siot kaya aun natabunan na sa pt si dh

@laii,injured pa sina lordy at ds,mas mauna pang makakbalik si ds kesa ke lordy.
and pareng moymoy nasabi rin kasi ni kowts na susubukan nya muna ang mga bago nating players at bibigyan ng pt para naman makapag adjust sila kagad sa sistema ng tea,,and yung ke arwind naman,mas oki nga na sya ang mag start ng game,kitang kita na ala syang gana maglaro e,wala yung energy nya