THE PBA Philippine Cup finals protagonists a year ago carved out contrasting wins Sunday at the Philsports Arena.
San Miguel blasted Blackwater despite the absence of three key players, 115-78, while reigning champion Meralco took down streaking team NLEX, 108-92.
The Beermen’s win, coupled by the loss of the Road Warriors, allowed June Mar Fajardo and Co. to catch NLEX at second place with 6-2 slates.
The Bolts meanwhile, notched a second straight victory and back at the .500 mark at 5-5, while the Bossing continued to go down in the standings with their fourth straight loss, sharing the bottom with Terrafirma with identical 1-7 marks.
Here are three takeaways in Sunday’s doubleheader.
1. CJ CANSINO EMERGES AS ALTERNATE TO INJURED ALLEIN MALIKSI
For the second straight outing, the Meralco rookie was adjudged Best Player of the Game as he finished with 20 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while going a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line.
Cansino, who’s working hard to improve on his defense, has been playing well for the Bolts that coach Luigi Trillo said the shooting guard out of University of Santo Tomas and University of the Philippines serves as a perfect substitute for veteran gunner Allein Maliksi, who is out for the rest of the season due to a back injury.
For sure, it’s going to be a potent wing spot for Meralco next season when Maliksi and Cansino play together.
2. KEVIN ALAS SHOT PERFECT FROM THE FLOOR
Overshadowed by the Road Warriors’ loss against the Bolts was the flawless shooting of the veteran guard who was 5-of-5 from the field including 4-of-4 from three-point range.
He was the second leading scorer for NLEX with 14 points – together with rookie JB Bahio – and had two steals and an assist in 24 minutes of play coming off the bench.
Alas had five points in the fourth quarter as he, Robert Bolick, and Javee Mocon tried to rally the team, but to no avail.
3. LITTLE LEFT IN THE GAS FOR BLACKWATER
After engaging Barangay Ginebra to a toe-to-toe battle in their previous game, it seemed the Bossing got burned out and had little to offer against the Beermen.
Blackwater managed to keep in step with San Miguel only in the first quarter before the Beermen stepped on the gas and pulled away for good by halftime. In the end, Blackwater was only 32 percent from the field and 26 percent from three point range. It committed 17 turnovers, and held down to just 78 points.
Those numbers are obviously far from what the Bossing had against the Kings in a 101-99 loss courtesy of a Japeth Aguilar game-winner. Against Ginebra, Blackwater was 45 percent from the floor and 39 percent from deep. It also committed less turnovers (10) and came just a point from reaching the 100-point mark.
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