Fastbreak: Painters, Mixers rout foes
HIGH FIVE. Reid and the Painters are rolling. File photo by PBA Images/Nuki Sabio.
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (120) - (93) Barako Bull Energy Cola
The Best: Well what do you know? Jeff Chan finally found the bottom of the net tonight, making 4 triples and shooting 7/8 FGs overall to finish with 20 points. The Gilas gunner was the highest-scoring local in this game, and boy did Rain or Shine need it, especially since the Painters are fighting for a twice-to-beat edge in the next round. If Chan can keep his hot shooting up, then coach Yeng Guiao will have more reason to smile.
The Worst: Emman Monfort's performance continues to slide this conference. After a rousing start, the law of averages seems to have caught up with the Pocket Rocket, who was only 1/4 from the floor tonight. He had 4 assists, but he also turned the ball over 3 times. His chief back-up, Celino Cruz, was more productive, scoring 7 points and handing out 3 dimes.
Great Gabe: Like Chan, Gabe Norwood seems to have found his bearings, too. The FIBA Asia stopper netted 11 points on 5/7 FG shooting, had 3 boards, and dished out 7 assists. More importantly, though, he had ZERO turnovers in this game.
San Mig Coffee Mixers (95) - (82) Alaska Aces
The Best: Tim Cone's bench mob deserves the credit here. Off-the-pine guys Allein Maliksi, Mark Barroca, and PJ Simon all delivered in spades. They combined for 44 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists to provide a big lift for the Mixers as most of the starters struggled to find the hole.
The Worst: Alaska shot atrociously from practically everywhere in this encounter. The Aces were 3/20 from rainbow country, 63% from the line, and under 40% total from the field. The starting locals -- Sonny Thoss, Cyrus Baguio, Tony dela Cruz, and RJ Jazul -- all combined to shoot 11/37 from the floor, which is good for just under 30%. Just unacceptable shooting for coach Luigi Trillo.
Loving the match-up: This SMC-Alaska match-up just has so many emotional underpinnings. We have coach Tim against his former team. We have coach Trillo against his mentor. Former Gilas teammates JV Casio and Mark Barroca squared off. We have crowd favorite James Yap against crowd heel Calvin Abueva. Every single time, this is a classic. - Rappler.com
