Hotdogs slow down Express

Edner Elisma showed up his former collegiate teammate Mike Maddox, and the Purefoods Hotdogs simply outplayed the FedEx Express, 106-92, in the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Conference at the Makati Coliseum last night.

In the second game, Coca-Cola spoiled Jerald Honeycutt’s return stint with Talk n Text as the Tigers clawed the Phone Pals, 107-98.

Topped by Art Long and the San Miguel Beermen last Sunday, Elisma and the Hotdogs poured out their frustrations on Maddox and the Express to pull even with the Barangay Ginebra Kings at fifth place on their third win in seven outings.

The Express tied the Sta. Lucia Realtors at the tail end of the chart on their fifth loss against a solitary win.

Elisma unleashed a power game in his reunion match with former Georgia Tech teammate Maddox, logging 36 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and the same number of blocks.

The Purefoods import made 32 of his 36 points in the first three quarters of play while Maddox scored the bulk of his 32 points in the final period when the Express were already far behind the Hotdogs.

"That’s all I wanted to do, try to make myself better and try to make my team play better," said Elisma, who used to guard Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan during their collegiate days.

"It’s a nice win especially coming off a close loss to San Miguel. Ang maganda noon we did it without some of our key players," said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, referring to injured players Jun Limpot and James Yap.

The Hotdogs hardly missed Limpot and Yap with Paul Artadi and Peter Simon stepping up their games to help rev up the team. The two neophytes combined for 26 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and three steals.

Meanwhile, Shell plays its first game under new coach Leo Austria versus Ginebra and its new import Torraye Braggs at the resumption of action at the Araneta Coliseum today.

San Miguel and Sta. Lucia clash in the other game with the Beermen seeking a seventh straight win and the Realtors looking for a follow-up to their 100-98 decision over the Ginebra Kings the last time out.