Boosters win it with small platoon

Games tomorrow (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5:45 p.m. – Meralco vs Globalport

8 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs San Mig Coffee

MANILA, Philippines - Down to eight men, Petron Blaze still found a way to turn back Barako Bull, 96-90, and keep its unblemished record in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Boosters, further depleted by the sidelining of Chris Lutz, paced themselves well in the first three quarters before pouring it all out in the final period to frustrate the Energy Cola and stretch their win run to four.

Marcio Lassiter, with 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists, led the eight brave men against the Energy Cola, who lost steam in the stretch and took their second straight loss after back-to-back victories.

“Masyadong manipis talaga (We had a very short lineup right now). It’s good we hung in there and gained the breaks in the end,” said Petron coach Gee Abanilla.

“We came into the game with only eight players, including a rookie. But our standard of expectation didn’t change. Everybody pitched in and everybody stepped up,” Abanilla also said.

With Lutz joining Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross, Ronald Tubid and Yousef Taha in the injured list, Lassiter, Arwind Santos, Paolo Hubalde, Junmar Fajardo, Chico Lanete, Jason Deutchman, Jojo Duncil, Doug Kramer and rookie Joseph Marata were left to fend for Petron.

The eight held fort as they seized command, 78-73, at the start of the final quarter and hung on till the final buzzer.

Fajardo collected 22 rebounds, 11 points, five blocks, four steals and three assists, Santos delivered 19 markers while Hubalde added 15 points, including nine in the payoff period.

After a long chase, Petron drew even at 73 then pulled ahead, 75-73, on two free throws then a jumper by Lanete at the start of the fourth quarter.

Petron made it 78-73 on a Lassiter triple before Willie Miller scored on a drive to break Barako’s five-minute scoring slump.

Before losing steam, the Energy Cola dominated the first three quarters of play, enjoying an early double-digit advantage at 21-11, taking the half at 50-46 and holding on to a 73-71 lead at the end of the third.

Alaska Milk survived a mere 26-point output in the first half but went full throttle in the fourth quarter to outlast the Air21 Express, 97-91, in overtime later in the night.

Activated in this game, rookie Chris Exciminiano went 4-of-4 from the three-point area and 2-of-3 from the two-point zone, giving the Aces their second win against three losses.

Losing an overtime battle for the second straight game, the Express moved down to 0-5.

The scores:

First Game

Petron 96 – Lassiter 26, Santos 19, Hubalde 15, Fajardo 11, Lanete 10, Deutchman 7, Duncil 4, Kramer 4, Marata 0.

Barako Bull 90 – Intal 11, Macapagal 10, Miller 10, Buenafe 10, Wilson 9, Isip 9, Peña 9, Jensen 7, Fortuna 5, Villanueva 5, Pennisi 5, Marcelo 0.

Quarterscores: 24-31; 46-50; 71-73; 96-90

Second Game

Alaska 97 – Abueva 19, Exciminiano 16, Jazul 13, Espinas 11, Thoss 10, Casio 7, Baguio 7, Dela Cruz 6, Belasco 4, Ramos 4, Hontiveros 0, Eman 0.

Air21 91 – Canaleta 22, Manuel 20, Custodio 13, Cardona 12, Espiritu 10, Taulava 5, Yeo 4, Sharma 4, Jaime 1, Arboleda 0, Ritualo 0, Camson 0.

Quarterscores: 9-16, 26-29, 52-49, 80-80, 97-91