Batang Pier spill Abueva-less Aces

MANILA, Philippines -- Globalport sustained the momentum of its mini-breakthrough, blowing by a Calvin Abueva-less Alaska Milk squad, 94-84, and going above the .500 mark halfway through its elimination-round stint in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.

With their mix of grizzled warriors and promising young talents making the push together, the Batang Pier humbled the Commissioner’s Cup titleholders for a third straight win and fourth in seven games in all.

“Basically, we’re able to play good defense to set the tone in the first half, and we’re able to sustain the effort throughout,” said Globalport coach Ritchie Ticzon of their dominant performance over the Aces.

“They (the Aces) came to within 10 (in the fourth quarter) but our players responded and hit our own big shots. We executed down the stretch,” Ticzon added.

Sol Mercado, Jay Washington, Mark Yee, Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia, fast emerging as Globalport’s deadly five, complemented well one another as the Batang Pier pulled another one following back-to-back wins over Meralco and San Mig Coffee.

Mercado and Romeo tossed in 26 and 21 points while Washington, Garcia and Yee added 13, 13 and 10 respectively as the Batang Pier already matched their four-win performance (franchise-best) in the last Governors Cup.

Their young rookie bench chieftain downplayed what they’ve achieved so far.

“We don’t look at the record. We just want to play hard each time. We don’t care about our wins and losses. We just want to work together, and we know wins will come,” said Ticzon.

Work hard they did as they dealt the Aces a fifth loss against two wins.

The Aces struggled throughout minus Abueva who was out with a sprained ankle sustained in practice. Worse, Sonny Thoss played limited minutes due to early fouls.

Mercado and Romeo scored almost at will in a big explosion in the first half, combining for 37 points as the Batang Pier carried a 20-point bulge, 55-35, over into the final half.

Romeo quarterbacked Globalport in a steady start then Mercado took over to even step up the Batang Pier’s charge in the second period giving Globalport a 21-point spread at 55-34.

At the height of Globalport’s second-quarter breakaway, Alaska coach Luigi Trillo incurred a technical foul for charging onto the court vehemently raising an issue with the referees.

Moments later, Gabby Espinas was warned for his own outburst against the refs.

The Batang Pier stayed focused on the game and pulled away with a 20-point lead at the turn.

Romeo went 3-of-4 from the three-point area and 2-of-4 from the two-point zone and also got two rebounds and one assist as Globalport took a seven-point lead, 27-20, in the opening quarter.

Meanwhile, Meralco hopes to use its quickness to overcome Petron Blaze’s height and depth as the Bolts take their turn to try to stop the Boosters rampage in a Petron Blaze-sponsored Saturday special in Dipolog City Saturday.

The Bolts, currently in the middle of the chart with an even 3-3 win-loss card, are definitely the underdogs versus the unbeaten frontrunners Boosters in their 3:30 p.m. showdown at the Dipolog Coliseum.

“We’ve won games despite our short ceiling by using our quickness. That is how we intend to compete against them. Quickness will be our weapon to compensate for our weakness,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.

“Six teams have failed. They (the Boosters) won games when they were depleted. They are more dangerous now that they are complete. We have to bring out whatever we can muster to have a chance,” Gregorio also said.

But victories over Barangay Ginebra and San Mig Coffee provide Meralco some hope.

“We passed huge tests against tournament favorites Ginebra and San Mig. Now, the biggest test will be Petron. We like the underdog tag. That compels us to play with tenacity and desire on both ends of the floor,” said Gregorio.