Fastbreak: Air21, SMC, Ginebra, RoS slay opponents

Enzo Flojo

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Air21 kept its hot streak alive, Tim Cone continued his mastery of Alaska, Ginebra notched another win and Rain or Shine spanked Talk N' Text in a bizarre PBA weekend.

2013 PBA Commissioner’s Cup

Air21 Express (87) – (72) GlobalPort Batang Pier

The Best: Niño Cañaleta and Wynne Arboleda hit 4 treys each to underscore the hot sniping of the Express. The duo combined for 26 points as Air21 moved right behind the Tropang Texters in the standings.

The Worst: Sylvester Morgan’s numbers were good — 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks — but he shot just 6-of-15 from the floor and committed 6 turnovers. Ouch.

Shine bright like a Dunigan: Mike Dunigan uncorked another great outing as Air21 came back from as many 7 down at the half to an 11-point lead entering the fourth. Dunigan flirted with a triple-double, scoring 22 points, hauling down 15 rebounds, and dishing out 8 assists in another shining example of his underrated awesomeness.

San Mig Coffee Mixers (84) – (83) Alaska Aces

The Best: It was Monster Bowles at his beastly best — 30 points, 23 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. Yes, he shot just 10-of-25 from the field and 10-of-17 from the line, but the bottom-line is he led the Mixers to another big W.

The Worst: The controversial James Yap was nowhere near his big game self in this one. The former Red Warrior made just 2 of his 12 FGs to finish with 5 points. Now that his ex-wife and son are on their way to Europe, perhaps Yap can shift his focus a bit more toward the basketball court rather than the court of public judgment.

I smell another suspension: I don’t know about that endgame jumpball called by the refs. Maybe they should’ve just stopped Calvin Abueva from taking his free throw seeing as so many guys were already scrambling for the impending rebound inside the restricted area. I don’t know if that’s even allowed, though. The Alaska team management is arguing that the call should have been made as the shot was taken. It’s a tricky issue, and one that, at least I think, will result in another referee suspension.

Bgy. Ginebra San Miguel Kings (96) – (89) Barako Bull Energy Cola

The Best: Anytime a team makes more than half of its three-point attempts, its bound to get ugly for the other club. That’s what happened here, as the Kings made 54% of their attempts from rainbow country. Spitfire guard LA Tenorio led all snipers with 5 treys.

The Worst: Anytime a team gets outrebounded, its bound to get pretty for the other club. The Energy Cola were -16 on the boards tonight, with nobody outside of Evan Brock netting more than 5 rebounds.

V-Mack Attack: Vernon Macklin has been great for Ginebra, and this game was another exhibit to support that claim. V-Mack contributed 33 points on 50% FG shooting and 22 rebounds to lead the Kings. Just don’ talk to him about those free throws (39% this game).

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (116) – (85) Talk N Text Tropang Texters

The Best: Wow. I mean, just WOW. This was a statement game for sure. The Painters pretty much did everything right in this one. They outshot the Texters, outrebounded them, and were +11 in assists and +4 in blocks. Is coach Yeng Guiao distracted by the impending elections? Doesn’t look like it.

The Worst: TNT’s starting backcourt — Jimmy Alapag and Larry Fonacier — was just thoroughly outplayed here. The duo paired up for just 11 points on 4-of-12 FG shooting in a combined 49 minutes. Alapag had 6 assists, but he turned the ball over thrice, while Fonacier had 3 rebounds and nothing else.

Croatian Sensation: Bruno Sundov continues to be more than just a lanky white guy who can shoot. The Split, Croatia native hauled down 16 boards to go along with 5 assists in an all-around effort. Oh yeah, he also compiled 27 points on 10-of-12 FG shooting including going 2-of-2 from downtown. #efficiency – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!