MANILA, Philippines – The B-Meg locals carried the cudgels for the team with import Denzel Bowles saddled by early fouls as the Llamados nipped the Barako Bull Energy, 88-86, for their second straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome tonight.
Joe Devance, James Yap and Marc Pingris delivered as the Llamados overcame an 11-point halftime deficit and scored a follow-up on their triumphant debut versus the Meralco Bolts last Friday.
Devance led all scorers with 26 points, Yap added 14 and Pingris contributed nine, all in the second half, including two jams that helped fuel B-Meg’s third-quarter surge.
Pingris also grabbed five rebounds, two off the offensive board making him the 42nd PBA player to collect a career total of 1,000 offensive caroms.
Defensively, the Llamados focused on Dermarr Johnson, limiting him to two in the second half after exploding for 19 in the first 24 minutes of play.
The whole Barako team was held to a single field-goal basket in the last four minutes as it suffered the loss following a winning debut versus Alaska also last Friday.
Willie Miller had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed a shot after faking off three defenders in the dying seconds.
“We played bad in the first half. We’re playing hard but we’re not playing smart. But I have to give it to the guys, they hung in there,” said B-Meg coach Tim Cone.
“It’s a big win. The tournament is a sprint and you have to get as many wins as you can. Our next opponents are Petron and Talk n Text. Imagine the pressure if we split our first two games,” Cone also said.
Bowles wasn’t much of help last night as he picked up three fouls right in the first quarter, a fourth just two minutes into the second period and his fifth with 3:42 left in the third quarter.
“That’s something Denzel has to learn. There are fouls that you don’t have to give up. He has to stay on the floor,” said Cone.
The Energy pounced on the Llamados with Bowles on the bench in the second quarter, working on a 15-5 run to open a 12-point spread at 48-36.
But behind Devance, Pingris and Yap, the Llamados got back into the game in the third and hung tough till the end.
Devance and Bowles scored three unanswered baskets as the Llamados moved ahead to stay at 87-83 with 2:01 left to play.
Bowles was limited to 29 minutes, churning out 19 points and 13 rebounds. Johnson, on the other hand, logged 21 points, nine rebounds, two assists and the same number of steals and blocks.