Fastbreak: Petron, Alaska cruise to Ws

Petron Blaze Boosters (112) – (86) Air21 Express

The Best: June Mar Fajardo is really showing some flashes of brilliance. Against the Express, Fajardo dropped 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. Oh, and did I mention he went 7/7 from the field? Man, if this guy can produce at this rate on a consistent basis, then we may have found the, potentially, most dominant BIG man since Asi Taulava.

The Worst: And now we all know why Air21 just had to get underutilized off-guard Joseph Yeo, right? I mean, what else can coach Franz Pumaren do when his starter, Ogie Menor, produces 0 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in 14 minutes? I love how BonBon Custodio scored 6 markers on 3/3 FG shooting, but I don’t think expecting that from him every game is realistic.

Welcome Back, Marcio: After a forgettable outing in Petron’s last game, Marcio Lassiter returned to relevance by hitting 3 triples on his way to 13 points on top of 5 assists and 1 steal. Should Lassiter produce these numbers consistently for the Boosters, then they should remain in the top half of the standings with little difficulty.

Alaska Aces (94) – (79) Rain or Shine Elasto Painters

The Best: JV Casio made short work of ROS’ backcourt, running rings around everyone, hitting open teammates, and canning long toms on his way to 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He also made good on three treys and went 6/6 from the free throw line. Not bad for a guy left our of the Gilas pool, right? In consideration for Spain? Hey, if he can drop this kind of game consistently, then I don’t see why not.

The Worst: The shooting woes for the Painters continue. Jeff Chan finally broke through the double-digit barrier, but he went 0/7 from rainbow country. The rest of his teammates, meanwhile, combined for 3/17 3-pt shooting, too. Suffice to say, this is just not the kind of shooting that will win games for a team that prides itself on playing with a free-flowing style of hoops. Coach Yeng Guiao is probably pulling his hair in… oh, wait.

Abueva in Limbo?: A lot has been written about the possibility that Calvin Abueva might be the first ROY-MVP since Benjie Paras. Well, this is no knock on Abueva, but shooting 1/5 from the field and making just 4 points won’t cut it. I loved all 13 of his rebounds, but that was easily offset by having just 1 assist and 3 turnovers. I think he’s pretty much the runaway ROY winner, unless Fajardo can average a double-double this conference and lead Petron to the title, but as for the MVP convo, Abueva still has a ways to go. – Rappler.com