Petron charts second victory

CEBU, Philippines - The Petron Blaze Booters unleashed a furious offensive in the final half to clobber M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala, 94-68, and go 2-0 entering the final day of the Sinulog Cup goodwill games last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Petron shoots for a clean sweep when it goes up against the Alaska Aces in today's main game at 7 pm, right before M. Lhuillier seeks for a graceful exit in the three-day joust against the Brgy. Ginebra Kings.

Six-foot-eight Puerto Rican import Reynaldo Balkman pumped in 23 points, including six straight late in the third period that set up the stage for Petron's fiery uprising. The former NBA mainstay was rested in the final 10 minutes of the contest when Petron coach Olsen Racela sensed it's going to be cruise control for them the rest of the way.

It was a closely-fought battle from the outset resulting into at least 12 deadlocks. M. Lhuillier tied the count for the last time at 32-all as Petron  made a 6-0 run to gain not only a marginal 38-32 lead but also full control of the match.

M. Lhuillier was in striking distance for the last time at 50-58 as Balkman made three consecutive hits and moments later Denok Miranda scored on a 6-0 blitz to tear the game apart, 70-52, with only 52 seconds into the final canto.

Jay Washington knocked in back-to-back triples and Cebuano skyscraper netted five unanswered points as Petron greeted the final period with a 11-2 bang to establish its biggest lead of the night at 27 points, 83-56, with still nine minutes left to play.

M. Lhuillier replied with a 8-0 spurt, but it did not matter at all as Petron quickly retaliated with seven points in a row to further break the backs of the Jewelers.

Alex Cabagnot chipped in 14 points for Petron, while Fajardo had 11 followed by Dorian Peña with 10. 6-foot-6 Cameroonian star Benoit Mbala led M. Lhuillier with 17 points, while Abby Santos banged in a dozen markers in a losing effort.—EBV (FREEMAN)