PBA: Petron runs the table, finishes 8-1 with win over GlobalPort

It wasn't pretty, but the Petron Blaze Boosters made sure their undefeated run was not going to end in the elimination round.

Petron dispatched the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 101-90, on Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome, in the 2013 PBA Governors Cup.

The victory gave Petron a league-best 8-1 record, thanks to an eight-game win streak after losing their first assignment. They'll be the top-seeded team once the quarterfinals begin in a week and a half, armed with a twice-to-beat advantage.

GlobalPort on the other hand sank to 3-5. Though the game was a non-bearing affair for Petron, a win for the Batang Pier could have put them in a better position playoffs-wise.

The two teams played each other tight in the first quarter, with a tied ballgame at the 4:50 mark, 17-all. Two Marcio Lassiter triples however highlighted a 9-0 run, 26-17, though GlobalPort had the last word of the initial period, closing to within three, 26-23, behind Markeith Cummings's strong end to the initial 12 minutes.

Hustle points from Doug Kramer, followed by an Elijah Millsap dunk off a steal gave Petron their first double-digit lead, 42-32, 7:47 left in the second period. Cummings broke the Batang Pier's silence with a trey, but Arwind Santos hit back with an and-one play, 45-35.

Later in the second, Sol Mercado caught fire, getting his team within six, 52-46, 2:39 left in the first half. June Mar Fajardo hit back for two, but a nifty spin move by Hans Thiele and a massive Cummings put-back dunk of a missed trey by Gary David had them within four, 54-50, entering the intermission.

At the start of the third, Cummings scored again to make it just a two-point affair, 54-52, but a 9-2 Petron blitz separated the two sides anew, 63-54. A pull-up jumper by Sol Mercado and an and-one play by former Booster Jay Washington had GlobalPort threatening a comeback anew, 63-59, but it was at that moment that the Boosters opted to show off their pedigree.

Petron exploded for a 15-2 blast, sandwiching Gary David's first points of the game at the 4:34 mark. That gave the league leaders a huge 78-61 buffer, entering the game's final quarter. The Boosters actually could have made their lead bigger, but they missed several easy chances.

Both teams got into the penalty early in the final canto, and that worked to the advantage of GlobalPort, as they converted more charities to get within single digits, 86-77, a little under halfway through the fourth.

An and-one play and a split at the line by Alex Cabagnot made it a double-digit difference anew, 94-80, 4:21 left. A Lassiter triple then sealed the deal, 98-82, just before the last two minutes call rang out.

Five different Boosters scored in double-figures, led by their import Elijah Millsap's 18. His GlobalPort counterpart Markeith Cummings top-scored with 26, but they particularly missed the offense from Gary David. Though he finished with 11 markers, most came with the game out of reach. He may have been shaken up though due to an early collision with June Mar Fajardo, which caused him to miss a large part of the first quarter as his side's medical personnel tried to stop the bleeding from his nose. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Petron Blaze 101 - Millsap 18, Lassiter 18, Santos 15, Fajardo 13, Cabagnot 12, Kramer 8, Lutz 7, Lanete 5, Deutchman 3, Tubid 2

GlobalPort 90 - Cummings 26, Mercado 14, Washington 11, David 11, Taha 6, Nabong 5, Salvador 5, Lingganay 4, Mandani 3, Miller 3, Thiele 2, Belencion 0

Quarter scoring: 26-23, 54-50, 78-61, 101-90