B-Meg coach Tim Cone and his troops were convinced they would take a special effort to make it
two-zero versus Barangay Ginebra.

But put a heckuva job the Llamados did, overcoming the Kings’ tough stand to move within a win of
the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.

B-Meg wore down Ginebra in a battle with PJ Simon taking over offensively at the finish as the
Llamados drubbed the Kings, 83-77, to the disappointment of the huge cheering Ginebra crowd in the
venue.

“It takes a special effort to go 2-0 against a team like Ginebra. You need calmness, living
through mistakes, living through bad calls and moving forward. We’re able to do that,” said
Cone, now on the threshold of his first final outside of Alaska.

Cone and his Llamados can wrap it up in Game Three Sunday. Game Four, if necessary, is Tuesday. Game
Five, also if necessary, is Thursday.

But for the record, 36 of 39 teams that enjoyed a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five series pulled through.

Cone said it would take them a lot more special effort to sweep the Kings, even in the continuous
absence of Mark Caguioa.

“It’s human nature that if one gets up 2-0, it slows down a bit. We’ll do what we can. We’ll
go for that obviously,” said Cone, chasing a 24th final appearance.

The Llamados, meanwhile, are after a 22nd finale, ninth in an import-flavored conference.

The youthful Denzel Bowles once again outfoxed Jackson Vroman and the B-Meg locals stood their
ground against their Ginebra counterparts as they came through with a follow-up on their 82-67 win
in Game One.

Caguioa, nursing a fractured cheekbone, showed up in uniform but didn’t play.

Simon tossed in eight of his 15 points in the last two minutes and the Llamados squeezed through
from a tight duel, pushing the Kings on the brink of elimination.

The count was tied at 75 before the Llamados capitalized on crucial errors by a Ginebra team
obviously reeling from fatigue.

Vroman valiantly fought through cramps in vain.

Nino Canaleta played big coming off the bench but he himself lost steam at endgame.

The Kings scored only two points in the last three minutes, running in a maze of errors and missed
shots.

Simon parlayed into a breakaway layup a turnover by Mike Cortez to break the 75-all count. Then
after Canaleta misfired a three-pointer, Simon canned two charities as the Llamados put more
pressure on the Kings.

Jayjay Helterbrand got away with a reversed four-point play in the last four seconds as Ginebra took
the half at 41-37.

The two teams engaged in a defensive battle in the first half limiting one another to 27 points each
through the first 17 minutes.

The Kings picked up their offense towards the end of the first half through second-string forwards
Canaleta and Rudy Hatfield.

Bowles, meanwhile, carried the cudgels for the Llamados piling up 12 points, nine rebounds, two
assists and two blocks in the first two quarters as against Vroman’s six markers and six boards.
(SB)

The scores:

B-MEG 83 – Bowles 21, Yap 16, Simon 15, Urbiztondo 12, Pingris 12, Intal 3, Devance 2, Reavis 2,
Barroca 0, Burtscher 0, Villanueva 0, De Ocampo 0.

GINEBRA 77 – Canaleta 19, Cortez 17, Vroman 10, Helterbrand 8, Hatfield 8, Ababou 6, Raymundo 5,
Wilson J. 3, Wilson W. 1, Labagala 0, Mamaril 0.

Quarters: 23-19, 37-41, 63-59, 83-77

B-MEG drew a solid game from import Denzel Bowles and booked an easy 90-75 win over Alaska Friday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Bowles finished with 35 points and 18 rebounds to overpower his counterpart Adam Parada and lead the Llamados to their fifth win against two losses to remain second in the team standings.

The locals also contributed big B-MEG with James Yap (14 points), Peter June Simon (13) and Josh Urbiztondo (10) hitting double figures.

It was Urbiztondo who sparked B-MEG’s breakaway in the second period as the Llamados were never seriously threatened after the break.

“Denzel had a wonderful game tonight. He has overpowered guys and he’s starting to realize the importance of game plan,” said B-MEG coach Tim Cone.

“We’d like to get to the top two seed that’s the ultimate goal. Five guarantees us a playoff but it does not guarantee you the top two.”

Parada had a quiet 24-point output for the Aces, whose two-game streak was snapped to fell to 4-4.

Alaska took control of the game early and Mac Baracael’s triple gave the Aces a 30-25 advantage early in the second period. But Bowles and Urbiztondo starred in B-MEG’s 23-5 windup to end the half with a 48-35 lead.

Llamados’ advantage reached as high as 20, 80-60, on Bowles’ two free throws with 6:39 remaining in the game.

Alaska had a 9-2 run to trim the lead to 82-69, but a quick 6-1 exchange capped by Yap’s three-pointer pushed B-MEG’s lead back to 12 points with under two minutes remaining in the game.

The scores:

B-MEG 90 – Bowles 35, Yap J. 14, Simon 13, Urbiztondo 10, Intal 8, Pingris 4, Barroca 2, Burtscher 2, De Ocampo 2, Reavis 0.

ALASKA 75 – Parada 24, Tenorio 18, Thoss 11, Baracael 8, Baguio 7, Gonzales 6, Custodio 1, Salamat 0, Eman 0, Reyes 0.

Quarters: 25-27, 48-35, 70-56, 90-75

Source: InterAKTV

B-Meg import Denzel Bowles turned out as good as advertised – at least in his first game in the
local pro league.

The 6-foot-10 European league veteran churned out 27 points and 11 rebounds in a solid PBA debut,
leading the Llamados to a 96-93 win over the Meralco Bolts on opening night of the mid-season
Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday.

He obviously got tired playing 36 minutes but nonetheless played tough and helped the Llamados
through versus Jarrid Famous and his Meralco teammates.

“A lot of people talk about him (Bowles) for good reason,” said B-Meg coach Tim Cone.

“Denzel played about 24 minutes a game in Lithuania, and he’s now playing 36 minutes a game
here. It will take sometime for him to get used to it. But once he does, he’ll be something
else,” Cone added.

James Yap and the other key B-Meg local players provided the needed support as the Llamados got off
to a winning start following their sorry fold-up in the Philippine Cup.

“It was actually a struggle, but it’s always a struggle in the first game. You’re not clean
with what you do. But it’s good to get the first win under your belt,” said Cone.

The Llamados, topping the Philippine Cup eliminations only to be eliminated by the Powerade Tigers
in the first stage of the playoffs, had a rollercoaster ride, emerging victorious in regaining
control towards the end of the third period.

Bowles, Yap and Josh Urbiztondo stood at the forefront of B-Meg’s bid as they overcame 11-point
deficits in the third period and led by as many as 13 in the fourth.

Urbiztondo set up Bowles for two thunderous jams to highlight their romp.

“Me and Josh have been working on it,” said the B-Meg import after the game.

Bowles went 10-of-17 from the field and 7-of-12 from the stripe to pace the Llamados.

Mac Cardona led all scorers with 32 points while Famous produced 24 points and 15 rebounds for
Meralco.

Prior to the game, Famous worked out with the Bolts for just three days, being a mere replacement to
the injury-hit Jelani McCoy.

New Meralco acquisition Paul Artadi contributed 13 points, three assists and one rebound while Chris
Ross, coming from an injury, finally played extended minutes, chipping in nine rebounds, seven
points and five assists.

Former Ginebra player JC Intal joined Bowles, Yap, Urbiztondo and Joe Devance in the starting lineup
in his B-Meg debut. He scored 10 points though used for only one minute in the second half.

Cardona got away with a perfect shooting with a triple, a charity and six twinners as Meralco took
the half at 46-43.

The Llamados started strong, setting the pace in the first quarter, 33-18, but the Bolts hit their
stride in the second period, outscoring B-Meg, 28-10.

Artadi sparkled in the second quarter with 2-of-3 shooting in both the three-point area and the
two-point zone. The whole Meralco team overwhelmed B-Meg with a 52.4 field-goal shooting in this
period.

The Bolts stretched their lead to 11 early in the third before the Llamados regained their bearing
and moved back on top at 69-68.

Urbiztondo beat the buzzer with a breakaway layup off a steal by PJ Simon as the Llamados led,
73-71, going into the payoff period. (SB)

The scores:

B-MEG 96 – Bowles 27, Yap J. 18, Urbiztondo 10, Intal 10, Simon 10, De Vance 7, Yap R.7, Pingris 5,
Barroca 2, Reavis 0, De Ocampo 0.

MERALCO 93 – Cardona 32, Famous 24, Artadi 13, Ross 7, Borboran 6, Hugnatan 6, Macapagal 3, Espinas
2, Timberlake 0, Taulava 0.

Quarters: 33-18, 43-46, 73-71, 96-93

source: PBA News http://www.pba.ph/news/entry/1395