Tenorio scores stunner vs Kings

MANILA, Philippines - LA Tenorio came through with two incredible plays in the last 18 seconds as Alaska Milk squeezed out a 76-74 win over Barangay Ginebra in a PBA Commissioner’s Cup road game at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena last night.

The brilliant Alaska playmaker delivered a rare four-point play and a triple in a classic finish of the game, stunning the Kings and everybody inside the playing venue.

Cyrus Baguio also made big plays in the crunch and finished with a game-high 29 points as Alaska made it two in a row after dropping its opening game in the season versus Barako Bull.

The two teams figured in a fierce battle in the payoff period with Ginebra taking the lead for the last time at 74-73 on a jumper by Kerby Raymundo off Sonny Thoss with only 6.0 seconds left.

The Aces, however, salvaged the game by working out a play where Tenorio eluded defender Jayjay Helterbrand on a pick by Thoss then got the dish from Adam Parada for the winning three-pointer he drained with 2.1 ticks left.

Having already used all their timeouts, the Kings weren’t able to map a play for a last-ditch attempt. They fell to 1-1.

It became a virtual all-Filipino game with Parada and Chris Alexander concentrating on defense and board work. Both scored only seven points.

Mark Caguioa and Mike Cortez led Ginebra’s assault as the Kings took the half at 41-32.

The Aces, however, opened the second half with a 10-to-nothing run paving the way for the tight finish of this out-of-town tussle sponsored by Phoenix Fuel.

Meanwhile, B-Meg goes for a third straight win versus winless Petron Blaze even as Air21, with Marcus Douthit as import, finally makes its debut in the mid-season tourney against Barako Bull at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo today.

Douthit, Smart Gilas’ naturalized player, arrived in the country Thursday after completing a tour of duty in the Chinese league.

The Express are hopeful Douthit’s experience and familiarity with PBA play helps them improve on their embarrassing showing (0-14) in the recent Philippine Cup.

Air21 and Barako Bull clash at 4:15 p.m. then B-Meg and Petron collide at 6:30 p.m.

With his team having got off the starting block well, B-Meg coach Tim Cone says the next important step is to pick up the pace and sustain the momentum.

Cone says they can’t be satisfied just barely beat both Meralco and Barako Bull.

But the multi-titled American bench tactician does believe those wins can well serve them in good stead.

“Our next two games are against Petron Blaze and Talk n Text. Had we split our first two games, imagine the pressure on us going into those games,” said Cone. 

“This (2-0 win-loss card) takes a little pressure off us and sets us up in our last five games if we can split the next two,” Cone added.

Needless to say, the Boosters face tremendous pressure, having lost their first two games to the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Meralco Bolts.

Coach Ato Agustin and his chargers must get their act together quickly or face the specter of missing the playoffs.

Tournament format calls for the 10 teams to play only nine games each in the eliminations with just six advancing to the playoffs.

Narrowly beaten by the Kings on Feb. 12, the Boosters played worse, not better, in their next game against the Bolts three nights later. Meralco pounced on Petron’s lethargic game for a 105-83 rout.

Arwind Santos, the stats leader after the PBA Philippine Cup, was a non-factor in their last game, making only two points – his lowest output in a game since limited to the same score in the last Commissioner’s Cup. 

Santos avoided going scoreless in draining in his lone basket with only four minutes left to play.

Stats-wise, Petron import Nick Fazekas has done well. He logged 37 points and 18 rebounds versus Ginebra and 33 markers and 17 boards against Meralco.

Cone believes their import Denzel Bowles is up for an acid test versus Fazekas, and he must learn how to pace himself and use his fouls.

Bowles played limited minutes after getting to foul trouble early versus Barako.

“You can see Denzel is a dominant guy when he’s on floor. He’s too valuable and he needs to stay on the floor,” said Cone.