Petron Blaze banked on its run and gun game to notch its first win of the season.
The Boosters unleashed 30 fastbreak points to run roughshod over the Barako Bull Energy Colas, 98-89, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Chris Lutz, still recuperating from his old injury, led the way for the Boosters with 22 points but it was Alex Cabagnot’s clutch performance that bailed Petron Blaze out of trouble as they withstood a late rally made by Barako Bull.
Cabagnot had two triples in the last six minutes, including his last one that gave the Boosters a 93-82 lead with only 2:40 left in the game.
“We made adjustments on the transition,” said rookie coach Olsen Racela, who picked up his first career win as coach in the PBA. “Last game, we had difficult time with our halfcourt set and we felt that 102 points was too much to give to any team, so we also stepped up in defense.”
Arwind Santos added 18 points while Cabagnot contributed 16.
Petron’s fast-paced attack produced a positive result for the squad, but visibly affected the game of 6-foot-10 center June Mar Fajardo, who struggled for only three points and seven rebounds.
The top overall rookie pick attempted five times, missed four shots and split his two free throws.
But Racela’s first victory was nearly threatened when the Energy Colas climbed back from 20 points down.
The lead was cut down to as low as five by Enrico Villanueva’s split charities early in the fourth period, 82-77.
But Cabagnot kept things at hand for the Boosters as his two three-pointers touched off a crippling 13-5 spurts by Petron Blaze, which pulled away anew, 95-82, in the final two minutes.
“Nag-relax kami. We have to play consistently for 48 minutes because any team in the PBA once given an opportunity can come back from big deficits,” said Racela.
The scores:
PETRON (98) – Lutz 22, Santos 18, Cabagnot 16, Duncil 8, Miranda 8, Yeo 7, Mallari 4, Washington 4, Ildefonso 4, Pena 4, Fajardo 3.
BARAKO BULL (89) – Urbiztondo 17, Pennisi 16, Villanueva 13, Anthony 10, Kramer 10, Tubid 10, Najorda 5, Seigle 4, Alvarez 2, Cruz 2, Yap 0.
Quarters: 24-20, 53-40, 80-68, 98-89
