Petron regains solo lead via win over Shopinas.com

Petron notched a third straight win Sunday night, blasting Shopinas.com, 98-87, to regain the solo lead in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

A closing 16-4 blast just before the halftime break did it for the Boosters, who were forced to a 35-35 standoff by the Clickers before coming through with the game’s telling run. It was 51-39 by the time the Boosters were through with the job, which Arwind Santos capped with a buzzer-beating, beyond-the-midcourt line desperation shot that hit the backboard first before rattling in. Denok Miranda came off the bench to lead Petron with 18 points, rookie Chris Lutz with 17, and Santos 16 and a conference-high 21 rebounds – his highest since grabbing 27 last June 24. In all, it was the seventh straight double-double for the lanky forward dating back to the Finals of the Governors Cup between Petron and Talk `N Text. “Arwind wants to prove himself that he can dominate especially in terms of rebounding," said coach Ato Agustin later. Despite what appeared to be a cruise for Petron, Agustin kept reminding his team of its tendency to relax. “I told the boys that we have to grab this opportunity playing against a young team but not to the point of relaxing," he said. “So during the halftime break, I reminded them that we have to be aggressive and work hard for the victory." The Boosters opened the third period by outscoring the Clickers, 9-3, for the first of their several commanding leads, 60-42. It was at its biggest at 94-73 with 7:12 to play on a split from the foul line by Rob Reyes. Veteran Jojo Duncil led Shopinas.com with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, and rookie James Sena had 12 rebounds and 10 points. Still, those numbers were not enough as Shopinas.com remained winless in three outings, becoming the first new league franchise to suffer the worst start in 10 years since Red Bull dropped its first six games when it joined the PBA in 2000. OMG, GMA News The scores Petron (98) -- Miranda 18, Lutz 17, Santos 16, Yeo 12, Agustin 9, Cabagnot 9, Ildefonso 6, Reyes 5, Baclao 4, Sharma 2, Guevarra 0. Shopinas.com (87) - Duncil 22, Jazul 12, Hubalde 12, Ritualo 12, Sena 10, Menor 9, Espiritu 4, Se 3, Canlas 2, Canta 1, Ilad 0, Hermida 0, Mirza 0. Quarterscores: 21-15, 51-39, 79-65, 98-87.