High-octane run powers Boosters win

MANILA, Philippines - Losing steam in their endgame chase the last time, the Petron Blaze Boosters this time made sure they came out strong and played tough every inch of the way as they got back at the Talk n Text Tropang Texters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Five Petron players delivered double-digit outputs, with two coming through with double-double numbers as the Boosters topped the Texters, 91-89, to force a 1-1 deadlock in their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinals showdown.

“Team effort, hard defense, high intensity throughout. That allowed us to get even,” said Petron coach Ato Agustin. “The last time, we’re able to do that only in the fourth quarter.”

It took just six Petron players to do the job.

“It’s already there. The rotation is doing well. I don’t want to mess things up anymore,” said Agustin on his option to rely mostly on Alex Cabagnot, Joseph Yeo, Danny Ildefonso, Chris Lutz, Arwind Santos and Denok Miranda.

These Boosters played at least 30 minutes each. Rob Reyes started at center spot and saw action for 20 minutes while Lordy Tugade, Axel Doruelo and Nonoy Baclao played minimal minutes.

Cabagnot, Yeo, Ildefonso, Santos, Lutz and Miranda all responded with solid performances, enabling Petron to bounce back from its 83-87 defeat in Game One.

The Boosters led by as many as 16 points with the Texters just making the final count close enough by converting desperation shots.

Jimmy Alapag and Kelly Williams combined for nine points in the final minute.

“After Game One, I said we need to play better in Game Two to win again. Obviously, we didn’t and that’s the story of the game,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

“Talo kami sa effort. We’re beaten on turnover points and on fastbreak points. That’s a good indicator of effort. They really wanted it more tonight,” Reyes added.

He particularly showed his disgust on the showing of his starters - Ali Peek, Ryan Reyes, Jared Dillinger, Harvey Carey and Jason Castro.

“My starters played like shhhhhhh,” said Reyes with a grin.

Only Castro logged good numbers with 15 points and 11 rebounds with the rest of the TnT starters combining for only eight markers.

For Petron, Cabagnot, Yeo, Santos, Lutz and Reyes combined for 68 points and 32 rebounds.

Ildefonso played well coming off the bench, logging 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists against three turnovers.

The two-time MVP winner capped his performance with a clutch jumper right in front of their bench, cooling down TnT’s rally at 89-84 with 20.5 ticks left.

The Boosters started stronger but the Texters slowly got into the game, catching up at 41-all at the half.

Cabagnot and Yeo buckled down to work early, giving Petron a 9-2 opening run and a 26-18 edge after the first period.

Cabagnot made 10 points right in the opening canto with 4-of-7 field-goal shooting plus one charity while Yeo added six markers.

But as in Game One, the Texters drew instant offense from their bench, waging a chase in the second period.

The TnT reserves outscored their Petron counterparts, 26-8, in the first half.

Cabagnot and Yeo got going again in the third as the Boosters regained command, carrying a 66-57 lead into the final period.

A booming triple by Arwind Santos to start the payoff quarter handed Petron its first double-digit spread.