B-Meg rides Simon’s 42 points to beat Air21
B-Meg Derby Ace 102 vs. Air21 97
by rick olivares photo by tunying p
November 10, 2010
Araneta Coliseum
B-Meg Derby Ace rode the scoring career-high game of Peter June Simon to post its first two-game win streak in the ongoing Philippine Cup with a 102-97 win over Air21 Express.
Simon scorched the Express for 42 points – also a conference high thus far -- including 14 huge markers in the fourth quarter to squelch a last ditch rally spearheaded by Rabeh Al-Hussaini (16 points in the fourth) and company.
Since coming out of the University of Mindanao, Simon has made a name for himself as an explosive scorer with Dazz, Hapee Toothpaste and Fash in the PBL.
Although drafted by Sta. Lucia in 2001, he was not picked up by the Realtors. But he found a home with Purefoods in 2004 where he has teamed up with James and Roger Yap to form a fearsome scoring trio.
“Make that foursome,” added first year head coach Jorge Gallent who referred to former Far Eastern University standout Jonas Villanueva. “I am blessed to have these weapons at my disposal. I’ve seen many great games from all of them and you can imagine what it’s like when all four are on their games. Tonight was PJ’s night.”
But the Llamados had to buck another poor start where they fell behind by as much as 13 points after Express court general Wynne Arboleda scored on a lay-up to make it 27-13.
“I think the game changed when Noy Baclao, Wynne Arboleda, and Josh Urbiztondo got into early foul trouble,” noted Air21 head coach Yeng Guiao. With his prized rookie and two point guards in and out, the offense had to be coursed through Ronjay Buenafe who was in the midst of a poor outing. With the Express’ offense in disarray, B-Meg dropped 32 points on them in the second quarter to take a 48-46 lead into the half.
Simon and Jondan Salvador led the second quarter attack with eight points each as the Llamados took advantage of the porous defense of Air21.
Gallent’s team seized the lead for good with a 10-0 run in the middle of the third quarter to take a 65-55 lead behind James Yap’s six points and a bucket each from Roger Yap and Simon.
But Air21 had one last run in them as Al-Hussaini went to work in the final frame. The second overall pick defied the defense of Rommel Adducul, Rico Maierhofer, and Salvador for his best output in his young PBA career with another double double performance. On top of his 25 points, the 6’7 forward-center also hauled down 13 boards and dished off for two assists.
The Express had a chance to bring the game closer as 97-90 lead with under two minutes to play, but two missed free throws by Al-Hussaini and a Buenafe turnover eventually affected the game’s outcome. Simon connected on three free throws in the dying seconds to close out his magnificent performance.
As Gallent praised Simon’s game, the supersub took it all in stride. “I didn’t realize I had scored that many until some of my teammates brought it up. I was just focused on winning the game. But I have to give them a lot of credit for looking for me. And swerte rin kasi yung bola napupunta sa akin.”
B-Meg’s win put them on level with Air21 at 3-5. “Hopefully, this is where we put things together,” said Gallent who is still missing three key players in Marc Pingris, Kerby Raymundo, and Rafi Reavis.
B-Meg Derby Ace 102 – Simon 42, Yap James 16, Maierhofer 9, Yap Roger 9, Salvador 8, Gaco 7, Villanueva 7, Adducul 4, Allado 0
Air21 97 – Al-Hussaini 25, Buenafe 14, Gonzales 12, Arboleda 12, Baclao 11, Urbiztondo 10, Matias 6, Quiñahan 4, Rodriguez 3, Guevarra 0, Sharma 0
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