MANILA, Philippines - Barako Bull, stopped in its tracks by erstwhile winless Alaska Milk Wednesday, returned bullish and rampaged past Powerade, 117-78, to stay close behind pacesetter Rain or Shine in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
The Energy took to heart their 72-93 blowout by the Aces, dishing out an A-1 performance that netted the Lina Group franchise its most lopsided victory ever.
“Coming off a loss to Alaska, the guys vowed to return with a bounce, and they just did,” said Barako coach Junel Baculi.
“I wasn’t expecting to win this big but I thought we did our homework well,” Baculi added.
The Energy came out firing and did as well on the defensive end as they thoroughly dominated the Tigers for their fifth win in seven starts.
Powerade suffered a fourth loss against three wins.
So dominant were the Energy that they led by as many as 53 before letting their reserves play in the final quarter.
Sunday Salvacion knocked in four triples, finished with a game-high 20 points and shackled Powerade main man Gary David.
Willie Miller, Paul Artadi, Leo Avenido and Danny Seigle also scored in double figures for the Energy who sizzled with a 59.5-percent shooting as against the Tigers’ 33.3-percent clip.
Well in the groove, the Energy outclassed the Tigers on other fronts of the game that made it easy for them to dominate, leading by 53 at 105-52.
Their unforgiving defense also had the Energy forcing the Tigers to 23 errors and netting 30 points off it.
Ryan Reyes topscored with 20 points while Kelly Williams put in a near double-double job with 19 points and nine rebounds as Talk n Text trounced Barangay Ginebra, 86-71, to cap the night of routs.
Jarred Dillinger and Ali Peek added 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Texters who notched a third straight win and fifth in six games in all.
The Energy shackled down David, holding the league scoring leader to five points with a woeful 1-of-8 field shooting.
“We’re wary of David and we exerted effort to neutralize him,” said Baculi.
“Defense was the main topic of coach Junel while we’re preparing for this game. We’re able to bring that to the game,” said Paul Artadi who helped provide spark in their overwhelming triumph.
The Energy pummeled the Tigers in the first three quarters before relaxing a bit in the payoff period.
Salvacion and Miller got the Energy to a strong start, racing to a 22-6 lead which grew to 43-21 at the half and 62-29 at the end of the third.
The scores:
First Game
Barako 117 – Salvacion 20, Miller 16, Artadi 14, Avenido 12, Seigle 11, Sorongon 7, Ababou 7, Arboleda 7, Pennisi 6, Allado 6, Salvador 4, Peña 4, Gatumbato 3.
Powerade 78 – Anthony 13, Kramer 12, Lassiter 9, Antonio 9, Martinez 7, Vanlandingham 7, Calimag 6, David 5, Casio 4, Lingganay 2, Allera 2, Crisano 2, Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 27-13, 62-29, 90-47, 117-78
Second Game
Talk n Text 86 – Reyes 20, Williams 19, Dillinger 14, Castro 13, Peek 7, Fonacier 5, Aguilar 3, Raymundo 2, De Ocampo 2, Carey 1, Aban 0.
Ginebra 71 – Caguioa 14, Cortez 11, Labagala 8, Canaleta 8, Intal 7, Tubid 6, Villanueva 6, W. Wilson 4, Helterbrand 3, Cervantes 2, J. Wilson 2, De Ocampo 0.
Quarterscores: 23-17, 48-31, 69-52, 86-71