PBA: Petron prepares for sweep as Fajardo fuels Blaze Boosters past Rain or Shine

(Updated 9:22pm) The Petron Blaze Boosters now hold a commanding 2-0 lead in their 2013 PBA Governors' Cup semifinals series with a close shave of a 90-88 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.

The Boosters looked like they were on their way to an easy victory with a nine-point lead and less than three minutes left in the game. However, the Elasto Painters fought back and had a chance to win the game on the last play.

Leading 89-86, Elijah Millsap was given an isolation play at the top of the key. He drove in for a one-hander but it was blocked by Gabe Norwood. Beau Belga then tipped in a Arizona Reid miss to trim the Petron lead down to a single point at 89-88 with nine seconds left in the game. Millsap was then fouled and he scored a split from the line to give his team just a two-point buffer, 90-88.

Rain or Shine had 4.2 seconds to work with but Arizona Reid’s short jumper bounced, handing the win and the keys to the series to Petron.

June Mar Fajardo was named as the Best Player of the Game with 26 points and 14 rebounds on 12-of-17 shooting from the field. “Ineexpect ko na yung physical yung game. Nagpapasalamat ako sa mga coach dahil nagtitiwala sila sa akin,” Fajardo said afterwards.

“He’s a big guy and he has good basketball sense,” said Petron head coach Gee Abanilla. “Danny Ildefonso and the other coaches have been helping him.”

With the win, Petron can now barge into the Governors’ Cup Finals with a win on Saturday. “The chance has definitely increased but there’s also a chance that they might come back,” Abanilla said. “Complacency is the enemy for us. If we do things right, we’re going to be okay.”

Back-to-back baskets from Arizona Reid gave the Elasto Painters a 12-6 lead. June Mar Fajardo replied with a mid-range jumper, but Reid scored again for a 14-8 count in their favor. Elijah Millsap then scored his first basket of the game at the 6:35 mark to cut Rain or Shine’s lead in half, but Reid responded again with a three-point play for a 17-11 count for Rain or Shine.

The Boosters worked doubly hard on the offensive glass to inch closer. Put-backs from Fajardo and Chris Lutz got Petron within a basket of Rain or Shine at 21-19, but after leading by as much as eight points, Rain or Shine had to settle for a 26-24 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

A dunk from Chris Lutz knotted the game at 28-all early in the second quarter. Marcio Lassiter then exploded for Petron, with a triple at the 6:42 mark allowing them to take a 36-28 lead. Three free throws from Jeff Chan halted Petron’s run though, 36-31.

A dunk from Chris Lutz knotted the game at 28-all early in the second quarter. Marcio Lassiter then exploded for Petron, capping his run with a triple at the 6:42 mark to take a 36-28 lead. Three free throws from Jeff Chan halted Petron’s run and trimmed the lead down to 36-31.

The Elasto Painters had a difficult time defending the Petron bigs as Beau Belga got himself into foul trouble guarding Fajardo. It was an especially difficult situation for RoS as JR Quiñahan was not available for the game. Aside from the big man, Paul Lee also sat out because of a torn calf muscle, while Ryan Arana suffered from a high fever.

Reid scored 18 points in the first half with 13 in the first quarter. The Elasto Painters built a lead but they allowed the Boosters to take control of the game in the second quarter as they committed 10 turnovers

Jervy Cruz started the third quarter by making a mid-range jumper to knot the score at 42-all but Arwind Santos took it right back with his own jumper. After a 46-all tie, the Boosters then banked on two slam dunks from Fajardo to build a six-point lead.

Fajardo added another put-back dunk at the 5:42 mark of the third for a 59-52 lead for Petron. The Elasto Painters however got baskets from Reid and Belga to cut Petron’s lead down to three at 61-58. Petron tried to pull away again with Fajardo scoring and Chico Lanete swishing a triple for a double-digit lead at 70-60. Rain or Shine however scored the last two baskets of the third to cut the Petron lead to six at 70-64.

“Towards the end of the ball game they were going to mount a comeback,” Abanilla said. “We’re just lucky that we got the win today.”

The Elasto Painters were able to cut the lead to a single point at 72-71, but they committed a spate of turnovers which turned into six points for the Boosters. Rain or Shine tried constantly to creep back into the ball game, but they failed to make their shots from outside. They had a lot of open looks from three but the shots refused to fall.

Alex Cabagnot then made them pay with a layup to give Petron a seven-point lead at 85-78. Fajardo added a put-back on their next possession off a Cabagnot miss for a nine-point Petron lead with less than three minutes left in the game.

With the seconds dwindling and a 0-2 hole looming, the Elasto Painters scored six straight points capped by a Gabe Norwood layup with 39.7 seconds left in the game. However, they couldn't quite complete the reversal, putting them in a dire hole.

Elijah Millsap added 19 points and 12 rebounds for Petron, while Arwind Santos chimed in with 16 markers, seven rebounds and two steals. Marcio Lassiter also fired in 13 points, nine off three-pointers.

Each player fielded in by Petron coach Gee Abanilla scored at least two points.

Arizona Reid led all scorers with 39 big points on 17-of-30 shooting. He also had 18 rebounds, five assists and a block. Jeff Chan scored 11, but he was the only other Elasto Painter to finish in double-figures.

Petron had a worse field goal percentage than Rain or Shine, 37.9 percent versus 43.2 percent, but the Elasto Painters blanked on all 18 of their three-point attempts. They were also clobbered on the offensive boards, 25-12, for a 25-12 advantage in second-chance points. - RAF, GMA News



The scores:

Petron 90 - Fajardo 26, Millsap 19, Santos 16, Lassiter 13, Lutz 4, Tubid 4, Lanete 3, Cabagnot 3, Kramer 2

Rain or Shine 88 - Reid 39, Chan 11, Cruz 8, Belga 8, Ibanes 8, Norwood 6, Matias 3, Tiu 2, Rodriguez 2, Jaime 1, Uyloan 0, Tang 0

Quarter scoring: 24-26, 42-40, 70-64, 90-88