Giants dwarf Niños
CEBU, Philippines - The Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants came in fighting mood but had to work extra hard before getting past the tough-fighting M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños, 73-65, in their charity exhibition match last night at the Cebu Coliseum.
Before the game started, Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio revealed that they really made a lot of preparations for their Cebu joust upon learning of M. Lhuillier’s 20-point annihilation of the Alaska Aces last week.
Their efforts paid off although at times they were threatened by the exuberant Niños.
The Giants, who were without star players James Yap and Kerby Raymundo, were ahead by nine points early on, 35-26, but the Niños charged back with savvy to wrest the driver’s seat at the end of the third period, 49-47.
The Niños held on to the lead for the last time at 61-59 on a triple by Stephen Padilla as Marc Pingris, Peter June Simon and Cebuano hotshot Roger Yap connived in a searing 14-1 rally that vaulted the Giants to their biggest advantage at 11 points, 73-62, with only 18 seconds left to play.
In the ensuing sequence, Padilla completed a meaningless 3-point play to settle the final tally.
Simon topscored for the Giants with 18 points followed by Pingris with 11. The high-leaping Niño “KG” Canaleta finished with 10 markers highlighted by a pair of slam dunks that drew a loud applause from the delighted spectators.
Brucia Dacia led the Niños with 18 points, while Abby Santos chipped in 14.
M. Lhuillier holds a 1-2 win-loss record in their four-game marathon against PBA squads. They lost to the Dondon Hontiveros-led San Miguel Beermen, 73-82, but bounced back in style with its 75-55 whipping of Alaska.
Up next for the Niños are the Brgy. Ginebra Gin Kings on September 21.
The scores
Purefoods (73) - Simon 18, Pingris 11, Canaleta 10, Allado 8, Maierhoffer 6, Fernandez 6, Salvador 6, Yap 6, Artadi 2
M. Lhuillier (65) - Dacia 18, Santos 14, Mepaña 13, Padilla 9, Saladaga 5, Basco 2, Enriquez 2
Quarterscores:15-14, 28-26, 47-49, 73-65 – EBV (THE FREEMAN)
- Latest
- Trending
