PBA: Fajardo posts 17 as locals lead Petron past Air21

The Petron Blaze Boosters leaned on their locals to come out with a lopsided victory against the Air21 Express, 112-86, on Wednesday at the MOA Arena, in the 2013 PBA Governors' Cup.

It was Petron's third win in a row, after dropping their conference opener to the Meralco Bolts, improving their card to 3-1. Air21 on the other hand possesses the opposite record, 1-3.

The game was close in the first quarter, but the Boosters broke away in the second, and continued to pad their lead until the final buzzer, as they notched an easy victory.

Import Elijah Millsap was once again prolific for Petron with 27 points and 12 rebounds. But beyond the numbers, it was his tenacity that helped his team get the victory.

“He’s providing a lot of leadership for our team and the locals are picking it up,” said Petron head coach Gee Abanilla. “We’re very happy about this win because it means we will have a shot at making the top part of the bracket. In a short conference like this, every win counts.”

Gilas Pilipinas reserve big man June Mar Fajardo chipped in 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting clip from the field, while Marcio Lassiter and Alex Cabagnot added 13 apiece.

“There were times when we were sloppy on defense especially when we had a big lead,” added Abanilla. “We need to build the identity that we will continue to play hard whatever the score might be.”

Both teams played a tight first quarter, as Arwind Santos and Millsap combined for 14 markers to lead the way for Petron, which took a slim 24-22 lead.

Air21, on the other hand, drew seven points from import Zach Graham, Niño Canaleta and Carlo Sharma put together nine points.

Chris Lutz drove into the lane and converted a difficult layup at the 8:32 mark of the second quarter to give Petron a 31-24 advantage. Chico Lanete added a fastbreak jumper a minute later to give Petron their first double-digit lead at 36-26.

Bonbon Custodio scored on a floater at the 3:21 mark of the second period to trim Petron’s lead down to six points at 40-34. A Mike Cortez layup a minute later got the Express closer at 42-38. However, Petron countered by going on a 7-0 run capped by a Fajardo undergoal stab, to give the Boosters a 49-38 lead at the half.

Graham led all scorers after two with 13 points, while his Petron counterpart Millsap led his team with 12.

The Boosters were able to establish a lead in the second quarter as they shot 68.8 percent from the field. Also at the half, Petron  had out-rebounded Air21, 27-21. Similarly, they had more assists, with 10, compared to only four for the Express.


The Boosters wasted no time in adding to their lead in the third quarter. After an and-one play from Millsap at the 9:20 mark of the third, the Boosters led 58-41. Millsap then followed-up with a huge one-handed dunk on the break to stretch the lead to 19.

Fajardo caught back-to-back alley-oop passes from Alex Cabagnot to give Petron a huge 72-46 advantage with 4:41 left in the third. Canaleta halted Petron's run with a one-hander down the lane to trim the deficit somewhat to 24.

The Express ended the third with a 4-1 run, but they were still down, 82-60, heading into the final quarter.

The Boosters went in for the kill early in the fourth. Lassiter got things rolling with a corner three, followed by a two-handed jam from Santos and two free throws from Lutz to build an 89-60 lead.

Joseph Yeo, the subject of a major trade rumor, stepped into the game midway through the fourth and sank his first triple to give the Boosters a 99-73 lead. He then added an and-one play and another trey at the 2:58 mark to doom Air21, which is ironically, the rumored destination for Yeo.

Zach Graham totaled 19 points in the game but he struggled from the field going 7-of-20. He also only tallied just six rebounds. The Air21 import was backed up by Niño Canaleta who had 16 markers, while Nelbert Omolon added 10.

“We have our work cut out for us as we have three games in the next seven days starting with San Mig Coffee,” Abanilla cautioned during at the post game press conference. - RAF, GMA News