MANILA – The Petron Blaze Boosters finally showed the heart of a champion as they snapped their three-game losing streak with a morale-boosting 98-95 win against the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings Sunday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Center. In sharp contrast, the Kings suffered their third straight defeat after winning their first two games as they fell into a tie with the Boosters at seventh to eighth place in the standings. After being admonished by teammate Arwind Santos two days earlier for “lacking heart” in their previous games, Alex Cabagnot responded by unloading 25 points and eight assists to lead the talent-laden but erstwhile unsuccessful Boosters to victory at last. Santos added 22 points and 17 rebounds. Chris Lutz chipped in 18 while Joseph Yeo added 16. The game was undecided until the final seconds as the Kings whittled down an 80-89 deficit to just two points with an 11-2 run in the homestretch. A follow-up shot by Willie Wilson with 1:45 left tied the game at 95-all as the largely pro-Ginebra crowd erupted into cheers. But Petron quickly regained the lead on a Yeo drive, 57 seconds remaining. Then with 9 seconds left, LA Tenorio committed a heart-breaking error as his bullet pass inside was too high for an unguarded Wilson to catch. Still not giving up, Ginebra sent Cabagnot to the free-throw line. Petron's starting point guard split his charities, giving the Kings one last shot to at least send the game into overtime. With 4 seconds remaining, Mark Caguioa fired a shot from beyond the arc but missed as Santos collared the rebound to seal the win for Petron. The Boosters won despite missing the services of their two centers – rookie June Mar Fajardo, who underwent surgery for his swollen scrotum, and veteran Danny Ildefonso, who dislocated his left shoulder during the game. “I think Petron plays better with an injured lineup,” said Petron head coach Olsen Racela. “It really shows the character of the team. Everyone is helping out,” he added. Caguioa lead Ginebra with 23 points while Tenorio had 15. In the first game of the Sunday double-header, the Meralco Bolts bounced back from their bitter 104-105 defeat to tail-ender GlobalPort Batang Pier in their previous game as they zapped the Air21 Express, 85-72. Sol Mercado topscored for the Bolts with 24 points, including five triples, while Mark Cardona and Ronjay Buenafe added 18 and 13 points, respectively as the Bolts climbed to fourth place in the rankings with their third win in five games. Reynel Hugnatan also asserted his might, contributing 10 points and 10 rebounds. John Wilson led Air 21 with 16 points as the Express suffered their fourth loss in five games to join GlobalPort at the bottom of the standings.
