Kings press semis bid; Villanueva,Yeo fined

Barangay Ginebra shrugged off a sluggish performance in the final half and repeated over Welcoat, 87-66, to enhance its bid for an outright semifinals entry in the Talk n Text PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Rudy Hatfield and Mark Caguioa teamed up in a decisive third-quarter attack and the Kings broke away from a 33-all deadlock at the half en route to their third straight win and ninth in 13 games overall.

Hatfield and Caguioa combined for 20 points in the third period, outscoring the entire Welcoat team by six in the pivotal quarter.

The Kings took a 63-47 lead at the end of the third and poured on the heat in the final canto in duplicating their rout of the Dragons in their previous tiff.

The Dragons couldn’t keep pace as the Kings pressed their bid in the final half, sorely missing the services of injured ace scorer Jojo Tangkay. The 6-foot-2 guard-forward sat out the game due to a right knee injury.

Welcoat’s output in the contest was the least made by any team in a game in the season, eclipsing Coca-Cola’s 67 in a losing stand against Red Bull last Nov. 19.

"I’m happy with the win but I’m not happy with the way we started in this contest," said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

Indeed, the Kings struggled early on, trailing 2-12 at the onset.

Meanwhile, PBA commissioner Noli Eala fined Enrico Villanueva and Joseph Yeo P40,000 each in the aftermath of what he described as a "regrettable incident" involving the league’s two young stars.

 Eala handed out his decision after the fact-finding team which he headed completed an inquiry that included hearing versions of the two protagonists as well as testimonies of several witnesses to the incident.

Eala also said that he chose not to dwell on the conflicting testimonies on who instigated the incident but stressed the two cagers "committed acts unbecoming of a professional player and detrimental to the values being espoused by the league."

Villanueva and Yeo figured in a brawl at the Araneta Coliseum parking lot on Nov. 19 in full view of PBA fans. The scuffle took place after Villanueva’s Red Bull Barakos defeated Yeo’s Coca-Cola Tigers, 95-67.

Eala also slapped Villanueva an additional P10,000 fine for a flagrant foul he committed on Yeo with 2.3 seconds left in the second quarter of their game.

PBA technical chief Perry Martinez said the offense drew a non-call from the game officials but a review of the game tape showed the offense Villanueva committed.

"It’s unfortunate the act was inadvertently not caught by the referees. Nevertheless, there have been precedents in the past in relation to imposing fines and penalties in this league that acts committed by any player during a game, even if not penalized during the actual game, may be subject to sanctions thereafter," Martinez said.