Petron runs Shopinas into the ground

Petron runs Shopinas into the ground

by rick olivares

November 9, 2011

Smart Araneta Coliseum

Shopinas dug themselves into a hole, crawled out of it, and then dug themselves into a grave of no return in the third quarter against Petron Blaze that ran away with a 102-77 win.

After the Boosters posted a 30-15 lead following Danny Ildefonso’s lone bucket of the night, the Clickers methodically chopped down the lead behind Renren Ritualo’s two triples, James Sena’s nine points, and RJ Jazul’s two treys to make it 43-44 at the half.

But Petron promptly regained the lead as they dropped a 21-0 bomb, the third longest unanswered streak after Ginebra’s 32-0 run against Shell in Game 5 of the 1991 First Conference Finals and Alaska’s 26-0 blitz versus Talk ‘N Text in 2008, to blow the game wide open at 67-43. By the time Sena knocked down a baseline jumper to score Shopinas’ first bucket of the third period, close to seven minutes had elapsed.

Rob Reyes, the third year forward-center who seems to have found a home with Petron, his fourth PBA club, spurred the Boosters in the third period by tacking on seven points, three rebounds, and four blocks. Joseph Yeo and Arwind Santos also chipped in six points a piece to give Petron a comfortable 76-52 lead despite missing Chris Lutz who was out with a minor injury.

Shopinas drew big games from Jazul (16 points) and Sena (13 points and seven rebounds) but their team’s collective 22 turnovers including seven in that devastating third quarter run by Petron simply hurt the Bert Lina-owned club. The Blaze Boosters parlayed those errors into 35 huge points. And the 21 offensive boards by Ato Agustin’s team also translated into 21 points.

Shopinas with all it’s college stars fell to the bottom of the standings with a 0-8 record while Petron went up to 5-3, good for fourth place.

Petron Blaze 102 – Santos 18, Yeo 16, Cabagnot 16, Guevarra 12, Miranda 12, Reyes 7, Sharma 6, Doruelo 5, Agustin 4, Baclao 4, Ildefonso 2.

Shopinas 77 – Ritualo 17, Jazul 16, Sena 13, Mirza 7, Se 6, Menor 5, Aquino 5, Sison 4, Espiritu 4, Hermida 0, Duncil 0, Daa 0, Hubalde 0.