E-Painters give Fajardo rude welcome
Being big and agile are welcome attributes, but playing within a system is another thing.
Ganging up on highly-touted Petron Blaze rookie June Mar Fajardo all throughout, the Elasto Painters of Rain or Shine picked up from where they left off, scoring a 102-86 romp over the souped-up Boosters Wednesday night in the 38th PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Ranged against the rugged defense of RoS’ ‘Extra Rice Inc.’–composed of Beau Belga, JR Quinahan and Jervy Cruz, the 6-foot-10, 260-pound Fajardo, this year’s top overall pick, groped for form, scattering nine points and 13 rebounds while sustaining a cut on his left eyebrow, no thanks to Ryan Arana’s cheap shot early in the fourth.
Sweet-shooting Jeff Chan collected 20 points while Cruz, Quinahan and Jireh Ibanes scattered 13 apiece for the E-Painters, who turned up the heat in the stretch.
"As I said before the game, this is the best time to play Petron,” said RoS coach Yeng Guiao, whose team is fresh off their Governors Cup title conquest. “They’ll be a lot more dangerous in three to four games. Swerte kami. They will not be this way the second time we play them.”
After Fajardo split his charities that pulled Petron within 82-88, the E-Painter uncorked 13 straight unanswered points–capped by Chan’s breakaway lay-up–to put the game out of reach with a whopping 101-82 cushion.
“I’m happy with the way we played,” Guiao continued. “We’re playing with a lot of poise a lot of confidence because of the championship. Evrybody made a contribution.”
Joseph Yeo sizzled with 11 points in the second canto but could only come up with five more, finishing with just 16 points, the same output as Arwind Santos, but the Boosters, tagged as one of the title favorites, were clearly given a stern reality check by the E-Painters.
Meanwhile, celebrated rookie Chris Tiu, the No. 7 overall pick, endured a forgettable debut, scoring just two points before getting sidelined after re-injuring his left hamstring in midway through the second quarter.
Earlier, Barako Bull got off to a strong start by outlasting stubborn Air21 90-87, thanks to the clutch exploits of veteran forward Ronald Tubid.
A former UE Warrior, Tubid finished with a game-high 19 points, including four of his team’s last five highlighted by a game-clinching tip-in off Enrico Villanueva’s miss, while four other teammates added at least 11 for the Energy Cola.
Do-it-all forward Sean Anthony collected 18 points and nine boards while Doug Kramer and Mick Pennisi combined for 25 points but it was clearly Tubid who came up big in the crunch.
Former top pick Nonoy Baclao shone for the Express with a career-high 18 points but those went down the drain after KG Canaleta, who tallied 16 points, muffed a potentially-tying triple, enabling the Energy to escape.
“We last played together about two weeks ago,” said Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi. “Enrico is still groping for form when it comes to our system. Veteran na siya, naka-recover sa second half. We have a lot of new faces in our team. We need to build up chemistry as soon as possible.”
The Energy missed the services of forward Danny Seigle, who was stricken with the flu.
The scores:
First Game
BARAKO 90 – Tubid 19, Anthony 18, Kramer 14, Pennisi 11, Urbiztondo 8, Najorda 7, Villanueva 7, Yap 4, Marcelo 2, Cervantes 0, Cruz 0.
AIR 21 87 – Baclao 18, Wilson 17, Isip 16, Canaleta 16, Arboleda 7, Custodio 4, Omolon 4, Sena 3, Taha 2, Atkins 0, Ritualo 0.
Quarters: 26-27, 49-48, 71-69, 90-87
Second Game
RAIN OR SHINE 102 – Chan 20, Cruz 13, Quinahan 13, Ibanes 13, Belga 9, Matias 8, Norwood 8, Rodriguez 6, Arana 6, Tang 3, Tiu 2, Uyloan 1.
PETRON 86 – Yeo 16, Santos 16, Cabagnot 12, Miranda 11, Fajardo 9, Lutz 8, Washington 7, Pena 4, Mallari 3, Ildefonso 0.
Quarters: 23-23, 46-47, 78-68, 102-86
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