Basketball
Justin Patton delivers in PBA debut as San Miguel cruises past Macau
Justin Patton turned in a solid PBA debut and helped San Miguel get back on track in the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup by keeping Macau winless through a dominant 110-94 victory, Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The former NBA pro finished with all-around numbers of 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting, 17 rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a block as he led the traditional contenders’ early surge to seize full control of the match.
He already had 18 points in the first half to show the way toward a 62-51 lead at the half, and the locals would buckle down to work come the third for the breakaway toward improving to .500 anew in the standings with a 2-2 record.
The Black Knights, on the other hand, fell to their fifth loss in as many outings, thus remaining the only winless team in this midseason joust.
(C) PBA Images
“Makikita niyo naman kanina, he really wanted to play, and I gave him a lot of time because hindi pa adjusted to the Philippine brand of basketball. He’s trying to figure it out,” offered head coach Leo Austria on the 7-foot-1 Patton.
“Yesterday, we had a long practice, for him to know what kind of plays we’re going to run. The good thing with him, lahat ng sinasabi namin, he was able to pick it up right away,” added the four-time Coach of the Year.
CJ Perez top-scored for SMB with 26 points, alongside three rebounds and five assists. June Mar Fajardo nearly tallied a triple-double, as he finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists, and added two steals as well.
Marcio Lassiter made 12 points, spiked by two triples, while Don Trollano added 10 markers, five rebounds, and four assists, in the victory that brought them back on track after getting blown out by Bol Bol and TNT last Saturday.
The bounce-back, furthermore, served as a warm welcome to Jericho Cruz, who’s back in action after being out for nearly a month due to back spasms.
“Siyempre, ‘pag buo kami, mas masaya,” offered Perez, who came away with Player of the Game honors. “Pag sama-sama mas may tsansa manalo.”
By beating Macau, SMB has regained much-needed confidence before heading into a killer stretch ahead, in which it will be facing Ginebra, current leaders Rain or Shine, and another rival in Magnolia in its next three games.
That starts this Easter Sunday with the Kings in a battle between long-time league heavyweights, to be held at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Going into this game, we were really worried because at 1-2, we cannot afford to lose another game at maging 1-3 before the Holy Week break,” Austria said.
“Magandang baon ito para papunta ng simbahan, maraming babati sa inyo na nanalo kayo,” the 68-year-old bench tactician added in jest.
(C) PBA Images
Tony Mitchell, on the other hand, had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Macau, who actually tried to fight back between the third and fourth quarters.
They managed to cut what was once a 25-point third-quarter gap to only eight early in the final period behind guard Phoenix Shackelford, but Cruz and Lassiter responded with five quick points to keep them at bay.
And those buckets would actually trigger the run to put it away for good, as Patton and Rodney Brondial came in to help out and put together a 12-0 rally in total to make it a 105-85 spread entering the game’s final seven minutes.
Damian Chongqui had 19 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Ramon Cao supplied a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Lao Chonpong made 15 points off the bench, while Jenning Leung added 11 points and nine rebounds for a Black Knights team that has hardly made any improvements despite bringing in a new head coach in Marcus Elliott.
The Scores:
San Miguel 110 – Perez 26, Patton 24, Fajardo 16, Lassiter 12, Trollano 10, Cruz 7, Tautuaa 6, Tiongson 5, Brondial 2, Calma 2, Miller 0, Cahilig 0, Mantua 0.
Macau 94 – Mitchell 23, Chongqui 19, Cao 18, Lao 15, Leung 11, Shackelford 6, Chao 2, Li 0, Lu 0, Chen 0, Zhu 0.
Quarterscores: 33-26, 62-51, 93-83, 110-94.
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NLEX took the solo lead in Group A following a convincing 110-96 victory over the erstwhile perfect San Miguel to extend its unbeaten run to four in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
In a game where they showed a bit of everything, the Road Warriors went on a tear in the second chapter, inflated the lead to its biggest at 25 in the third, and then displayed solid poise in the defining chapter to put the Beermen away.
Robert Bolick connected on a four, then came Robbie Herndon with a triple not long after as that 7-0 spurt pushed their lead back to 99-84 with 6:23 to go, and that proved to be enough to restore order after their foes cut the gap to eight.
DeQuan Jones took over afterward to lead the strong closeout as they went on to become the lone team without a loss thus far as the Beermen fell to 3-1.
In what’s becoming a trend since Coach Jimmy Alapag arrived, NLEX leaned on another balanced attack that saw a five finish in double figures
Jones himself led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Deschon Winston finished with 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists as he triggered the 14-0 run in the second chapter for a 44-27 lead that set the tone for the rout.
Tony Semerad had 15 points as his long bombs helped put together the solid finish. Bolick came just short of a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists while Herndon added 13 markers to lead the bench mob.
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Joseph Yeo and Chris Tiu rekindled their legendary partnership as Xavier School edged the James Yap-led Hua Siong College-Iloilo, 75-72, in Game 1 of the 40 Years Division finals of the Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. on Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Though no longer as quick or explosive as they were in their prime, the Powersox-AcroCity-backed Xavier stars remained deadly from beyond the arc, delivering clutch baskets down the stretch to topple the defending champions in the opener of their best-of-three title series before a sizable crowd.
The Golden Stallions now stand one win away from the championship and a measure of revenge after falling to Hua Siong in last year’s finals. They can seal the title with another victory on Monday.
Yeo turned back the clock with a game-high 30 points, highlighted by four three-pointers, to outduel fellow PBA great James Yap. He scored Xavier’s final seven points, including a crucial triple that stretched the lead to 71-66 late in the contest.
Yap answered with 18 points, knocking down two booming three-pointers, but his efforts were not enough as the Lamtex Pipes-backed Hua Siong absorbed its first loss after sweeping all eight elimination-round games. Hua Siong had also cruised past GT Radial-Grace Christian College, 108-74, in the semifinals.
Tiu also played a key role in the victory, finishing with 17 points while sinking two of Xavier’s 13 three-pointers. Hua Siong, meanwhile, connected on nine triples.
In the battle for third place, Grace Christian College rolled past SCAG-St. Stephen’s, 60-40, behind Allan Anson Tan’s 20-point performance to finish third in the nine-team tournament.
With Yap struggling to find his rhythm late, Ken Bono tried to keep Hua Siong within striking distance, but Xavier would not be denied.
The league is backed by Smart Sports, Tanduay Athletics, Genius Hardware, Ultraforce Tires, Cellboy, PGFlex Linoleum, Boysen, Lamtex Pipes, Jiang Nan, Hangry Pares, Powerhouse Tools, L.F. Fireworks, BYD Valenzuela, BAIC, Jetour, Yong Kee Roasting House, 1118 Autospa, and TCL.
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Ramon Cao asserted himself in the endgame to help Macau complete a 132-126 comeback win over Titan Ultra to break through in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup, Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The reliable big man finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds as he basically took it upon himself to bring the Giant Risers home after seeing themselves staring at a 120-119 deficit with 1:52 remaining.
He scored seven straight to give themselves the 126-120 lead with 31.1 seconds left, which were enough to put them ahead permanently while the opposition could only try to answer back but to no avail
De’Vondre Perry helped him out to keep their foes at bay before Cao applied the final blow with a cleanup from point-blank as the former Bay Area Dragons forward produced 11 of Macau’s last 13 points of the bout.
With this, the guest team improved to 1-4 while sending Titan crashing back to earth after beating TNT previously.
The post PBA: Ramon Cao powers Macau’s stunning comeback to first win at Titan’s expense appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
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