Purefoods' James Yap finds just enough daylight behind the outstretched arms of San Miguel behemoth June Mar Fajardo to score on a strong drive to the basket in Sunday's PBA Commissioner's Cup game at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette
MANILA — James Yap came back from sick bay to lead the defending champion Purefoods Star Hotshots to a smashing 113-105 overtime victory over the luckless San Miguel Beermen Sunday night in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Nicknamed “Big Game James” for his endgame heroics, Yap banged in eight points in overtime, including a pair of three-pointers, and then dished out an assist to Marc Pingris who sealed the win with an undergoal stab. James, playing in his first game after a two-game absence due to a right knee injury, finished with 15 points. Import Denzel Bowles played yet another monster game for Purefoods, posting 35 points and 17 rebounds as the Hotshots snapped a three-game losing skid. Purefoods thus improved to a 5-3 win-loss mark, good for solo fourth in the standings. San Miguel Beer suffered a heart-breaking sixth loss in seven games at it remained glued at the bottom of the heap. Purefoods appeared to be on its way to an easy win after erecting a 17-point lead, 83-66, early in the fourth quarter. But the Beermen finally showed some urgency in their game, with the streaking Marcio Lassiter leading a 15-7 SMB assault in the final period, which ended at 95-all. The two teams exchange baskets at the start of the extra period in what appeared to be a dogfight to the end. But then it was showtime for Yap, and the Beermen had no answer. Import Arizona Reid led the Beermen with 23 points. Lassiter provided strong support with 21 markers. Chris Ross and June Mar Fajardo added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Talk N Text 96, GlobalPort 88 Import Ivan Johnson led a huge fourth quarter assault to lift the Talk N Text Tropang Texzters to a 96-88 win over the GlobalPort Batang Pier. Johnson, a former frontliner of the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA, scored 11 of his team-high 35 points in the final period to lead the Texters to their sixth win in eight games, thus grabbing solo leadership of the conference. Johnson also hauled down 20 rebounds on top of three steals and two assists. It was a huge bounce-back win for the Texters after they suffered a shocking upset loss against the lowly Kia Carnival in their previous game. Ranidel de Ocampo was the local scorer for Talk N Text, finishing with 25 points, including six three-pointers. He also collected five rebounds and three assists. Rookie Matt Ganuelas-Rosser added 13 points. The loss snapped GlobalPort's two-game winning streak, dropping the Batang Pier to a 4-4 win-loss card. Once again, Terrence Romeo was the biggest scorer for GlobalPort as the emerging star finished with 20 points, 18 of them scored in the first half. However, Romeo cooled down when it mattered most in the second half. Undersized GlobalPort import Calvin Warner added 19 points and 27 rebounds. Stanley Pringle and Keith Jensen chipped in with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Games Tuesday: Alaska Aces vs. Kia Carnival; Barako Bull Energy vs. San Miguel Beermen.
