PETRON Blaze just kept its roll going, but head coach Gee Abanilla said could only be stopped by themselves.
“It’s a tricky situation. It may be double-edged,” said Abanilla after his Boosters fashioned a lopsided 112-87 victory over Barako Bull Tuesday to stretch their winning streak to five and close in on a very coveted slot in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Right now we’re at the top and that’s good, but the danger in that is that the players might read about the hype and it might be a cause for complacency,” added Abanilla.
“That’s precisely what we do not want. We’ve got to stick to our goal, keep our head low, stay grounded and continue working. Realistically we haven’t done anything yet.”
There seems to be little signs of Petron slowing down, not with Elijah Millsap pouring in 31 points in relatively limited action to lead a balanced attack and a defense that stymied the Energy when needed most.
Based on last year’s tournament with the same nine-game eliminations, five wins should be enough to at least tie for a top four slot and its accompanying twice-to-beat advantage in the ensuing quarterfinals.
Abanilla said his team must not let up.
“Realistically we haven’t done anything yet. Our immediate goal is the semifinals and now we have a good chance at realizing that. But we should continue to stick together, keep on believing in the system and work on that edge,” he stated.
The Boosters did relax a bit after using two electrifying middle quarters to erect as much as a 75-44 spread in the third period, but that hardly mattered as the Energy failed to mount any serious uprising.
As a result, Barako Bull’s bid to seize the lead was foiled, its own run was cut short at three and it fell to a 3-2 slate that tied it with idle Rain or Shine at second-running spot.
Despite being taken out with still 1:47 to go in the third period and not being fielded anymore in the fourth canto, Millsap still led all scorers and also had nine rebounds and four assists.
Chief backup were provided by Arwind Santos and Chris Lutz, who emerged from the one-sided game with new personal conference highs. Santos made nine of 12 field goal shots for 20 points, 15 in the first half, while Lutz added 19 and six assists.
Petron Blaze also limited Barako Bull to a 28-for-77 field goal shooting and harassed the Energy into committing a league conference-worst 27 turnovers.
For naught went Mike Singletary’s 26 points and 10 rebounds and the efforts of Danny Seigle, Ronjay Buenafe and Emman Monfort, who each had at least 12 points.
Lutz, who previously scored 10 points in each of Petron’s last two games, already had as many in the second quarter while Millsap and Santos combined for 14 in leading the Boosters to a 58-38 halftime lead.
Barako Bull would come no closer than 19 points after and Petron Blaze seemed content to just cruise along the rest of the way to eventually miss by a point the conference high in winning margin the Boosters themselves posted against Air21 last Aug. 28 by virtually the same score, 112-86.
Looking to regain the title it won two years ago, Petron Blaze already gave a glimpse of what was to come when it harassed Barako Bull to just 1-of-6 field shooting and four turnovers for a 13-2 start where Millsap and Santos combined for 11 points. It was repeated late in the opening period, when the Energy went 0-for-6 from the field and committed three miscues for a 24-13 spread. (NC)
The scores:
Petron Blaze 112 – Millsap 31, Santos 20, Lutz 19, Kramer 9, Fajardo 6, Lassiter 6, Cabagnot 5, Lanete 4, Miranda 4, Deutchman 3, Yeo 3, Hubalde 2, Sison 0, Tubid 0, Ildefonso 0.
Barako Bull 87 – Singletary 26, Seigle 18, Buenafe 16, Monfort 12, Pennisi 8, Marcelo 4, Macapagal 3, Jensen 0, Bulawan 0, Weinstein 0, Intal 0, Cruz 0, Pena 0.
Quarterscores: 24-15, 58-38, 93-69, 112-87
Source: http://pba.inquirer.net/29949/another-one-sided-win-stretches-petron-blaze-streak-to-5
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