Llamados force sudden death

MANILA, Philippines - For the second straight time, nobody had seen the “Rain.”

B-Meg finally overcame Rain or Shine’s playoff surge with a 97-81 rout last night to force a Game Seven – its second straight sudden death where the Llamados had thrived in grinding pressures.

As in Game Five, the Elasto Painters failed to stop the swashbuckling performance of James Yap in Game Six and paid dearly for it, paving the way for a winner-take-all match for the PBA Governors Cup crown.

Down and nearly out a few days ago, B-Meg survived its second straight do-or-die match and lived to play one final game tomorrow with a chance to pull off a rare feat only one team has achieved.

Yap and the rest of the Llamados sustained the momentum of their 91-81 win Wednesday, hardly giving the Elasto Painters a chance in a dominating performance cheered on by the predominantly B-Meg crowd of nearly 14,000 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The bruising, rousing victory, however, was marred by a post-game commotion as the teams headed back to their respective locker rooms with Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao figuring in a verbal tussle with B-Meg team manager Alvin Patrimonio and injured Llamado forward Joe Devance.

Keeping Rain or Shine from closing out the series, the Llamados and the Elasto Painters are now on equal footing, fighting out for all the marbles at 6 p.m. tomorrow, also at the Big Dome.

Curiously, the Llamados are playing a second Game Seven in the last two tournaments.

B-Meg could score rare back-to-back championships and, at the same time, be the first team in over two decades to win a crown coming from a 1-3 hole in a best-of-seven series.

“We win this game and we lose the next, we might as well lose tonight. Our third win doesn’t mean anything if we don’t go out to win Sunday,” said B-Meg coach Tim Cone.

Cone gave both teams equal chances of winning Game Seven while RoS coach Yeng Guiao kept a positive outlook despite blowing their first two cracks at wrapping up the series.

“The advantage of going up 3-1 is you can lose two games, make adjustments and learn from your mistake. That’s the luxury we have and we take full advantage of that,” said Guiao.

The Llamados dominated the boards, 56-33, and drew firepower from both their backcourt and frontcourt players as they pulled through in a third knockout match in the conference and sixth in the season.

Yap followed up his 30-point showing Wednesday with a near double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds while Marcus Blakely churned out another double-double numbers with 19 markers and 15 boards.

PJ Simon, Jonas Villanueva, Mark Barroca and Yancy de Ocampo contributed at least eight points each for the Llamados who played their best game in the series, leading by as many as 24 at 92-68.

“We played a real good game tonight. We played the way we wanted to play and they missed shots they normally make,” said Cone.

“The lead mushroomed to 24, but that’s not an indication of how Game Seven is going to be,” Cone added.

Picking up from where they left off in Game Five, the Llamados set the pace early, taking two 14-point spreads in the first half at 30-16 and 42-28.

Missing layups and short stabs didn’t help the Elasto Painters, making only 30 points in the first half on a woeful 12-of-40 field shooting.

The Elasto Painters started flat with their starting unit of Jamelle Cornley, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Beau Belga and Ryan Arana.

Norwood’s struggle continued from the last game, going 0-of-5 from the field in the first half of this contest. On Wednesday, the former top rookie went scoreless in 37 minutes of action.

PBA Notes: After deliberating on keeping his passion for the sport and the corporate world that beckons, former collegiate star and national team skipper Chris Tiu finally decided to further his basketball career by turning pro. Tiu beat yesterday’s deadline for submission of application for the coming PBA rookie draft, saying it was his “passion to compete and desire to inspire basketball fans” that swayed his decision. “(To inspire) is a very compelling reason,” said Tiu, who personally submitted his papers to the PBA Commissioner’s Office before noon yesterday. A member of the Phl Smart Gilas that placed fourth in the 2011 Asian joust in Wuhan, China, Tiu is also still more than willing to play for flag and country while already in the pros. “It has always been on top of my priority when it comes to playing. I just hope I will be given the opportunity again. Nothing gives me more pride than representing the country,” said Tiu in an online report. Tiu skipped the PBA draft last year in his hope to still be part of the Smart Gilas program. He played for the national team in last year’s SEA Games in Jakarta and in this year’s SEABA championship in Chiang Mai but wasn’t tapped in the all-pro national pool coach Chot Reyes will train for the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

 And there’s no certainty as to when will Reyes form his national cadet pool. Thus, Tiu is finally making the big jump. He’s making his PBA debut at age 27. In the 2012 PBA draft set Aug. 9 at Robinsons Midtown Ermita, Tiu is likely to land in the first round but may not be in the Top Three. Cebuano behemoth Junmar Fajardo could well be the top pick to be made by Petron Blaze. Other marquee names who have applied for the draft are San Sebastian star Calvin Abueva, Fil-Am hotshots Cliff Hodge and Chris Ellis, former PBL and PBA D-League MVP Vic Manuel, former Gilas mainstay Aldrech Ramos and former San Beda stalwart Dave Marcelo. Alaska Milk owns the second pick, and coach Luigi Trillo has said he’s choosing between Abueva and Hodge. Petron also holds the rights for the third pick. Tabbing in the draft next are Meralco, Barako, Ginebra, Rain or Shine, Ginebra once again, B-Meg and Powerade. Other talents who have made themselves available for the draft are Alex Mallari, Charles Keith Jensen, Jewel Ponferada, Kelly Berry Nabong and Lester Alvarez. Also in the list are Adamson’s Janus Lozada and Paul Gonzalgo, UE’s Paul Christian Zamar and Raphael Carlo Reyes, San Sebastian’s Raymond Maconocido and Marvin Agacer, UST’s June Yusi Dizon and Danilo Pribhdas Jr., Letran’s Jaypee Belencion, Arellano’s Andrian Celada, UP’s Virgilio Serios Jr., AMA’s Robby Zablan, PSBA’s Ricky Maurillo, PATTS’ Jayve Ferreria, and Mapua’s Mark Anthony Acosta, Allan Mangahas, Erwin Cornejo and Mark Sarangay. Fil-foreign applicants include Ellis, Hodge, Mallari, Jensen, Nabong, Karl Matthew Dehesa, Thomas Elliot Tan, Virgil Buensuceso, Mark Aguilar Jeffries and Alfred Jordan Mandani.

The scores: 

B-Meg 97 – Yap 20, Blakely 19, Simon 16, Villanueva 11, Barroca 8, De Ocampo 8, Urbiztondo 7, Reavis 6, Pingris 2, Gaco 0, Burtscher 0.

Rain or Shine 81 – Cornley 14, Tang 13, Norwood 12, Quinahan 9, Chan 7, Buenafe 7, Ibanes 7, Belga 6, Arana 4, Cruz 2.

Quarterscores: 19-13, 42-30, 65-56, 97-81