Bowles bullies way to 37 points as Purefoods nip Barako Bull

Games Wednesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4:15 p.m. – Kia vs NLEX

7 p.m. – San Miguel vs Talk n Text

MANILA, Philippines – Reigning champion Purefoods Star, riding the momentum of back-to-back overtime triumphs over San Miguel Beer and Talk n Text, rolled past Barako Bull, 103-96, to boost its bid for a Top Two finish in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Tuesday night.

Denzel Bowles delivered a personal conference high of 37 points, including 21 in presiding over Purefoods Star’s decisive attack in the third quarter en route to the win that guaranteed the Hotshots of at least a fifth-place windup in the elims.

“Top Six is our goal; Top Two will be a bonus,” said Purefoods coach Tim Cone.

“Our last game against Meralco will be a big one. But even if we win, we’re still not sure of the Top Two. If we figure in a three-way tie with Talk n Text and Rain or Shine, we’ll lose in a quotient with those teams. We still need help from the other teams for us to get to Top two,” Cone also said.

But in beating Barako Bull, the Hotshots (7-3) assured themselves of at least a spot in the best-of-three quarterfinals.

Barako Bull, meanwhile, dropped out of the Top Eight as it reeled with a fourth straight loss and sixth in their last seven games after a strong 3-0 start in the mid-season tourney.

The Energy need to win their last game against the NLEX Road Warriors Tuesday to get a shot at the playoffs.

Two equally important games are up tonight at the Big Dome with NLEX and Kia clashing at 4:15 p.m. then Talk n Text and San Miguel Beer facing off at 7 p.m.

The Texters press their bid for the Top Two while the Beermen fight for survival in the grudge match between these two teams who fought it out in the Philippine Cup semifinals.

On top of his 34 points, Bowles came up with 17 rebounds while Joe Devance put in his own double-double game with 15 markers and 10 boards as the Hotshots sustained their rise back to the top after losing three straight games against Rain or Shine, Kia and Barangay Ginebra.

Bowles struck hard in the third period, nearly outscoring the entire Barako Bull team, 21-25, and enabling his team to peel away from a 47-all count at the start of the second half.

Allein Maliksi, Devance and Marc Pingris took over in the fourth quarter, and the Hotshots led by as many as 16, 94-78, before sealing the crucial win.

“I thought our team showed real grit. It’s a good game for us coming from an out-of-town triple overtime. We just got sloppy in the end,” said Cone.

The Hotshots played a balanced game as they repulsed a Barako Bull team that hardly got support from its reserves.

Sol Alabi piled up 29 points and 19 rebounds with Chico Lanete, JC Intal and Sol Mercado adding at least 14 points each.

But the Purefoods reserves pummeled their Barako counterparts, 37-13.