A BURST of firepower in the payoff period propelled Barako Bull to an impressive rout of Star, 101-83, to improve its stand in the 2015-16 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Josh Urbiztondo found his touch, scoring a game-high 24 points, including five triples, while Willie Wilson and JC Intal were both solid as well, adding 18 points apiece for Barako Bull’s balanced attack.
Barako Bull emphatically owned Star in the decisive fourth quarter after a nip-and-tuck battle in the first three frames.
Following a 71-all standoff with under 11 minutes left, the Energy suddenly flexed their muscles and unleashed a blistering 17-2 blast in the middle of the fourth to suddenly take a huge 88-73 advantage with under five minutes remaining.
In that stretch, Barako Bull held Star scoreless for more than five minutes as its suffocating defense took charge.
While the veteran trio of Urbiztondo, Wilson and Intal remained the catalyst for Barako Bull, it was vastly improving guard Jeric Fortuna, who filled in the void left by injured star RR Garcia as he spearheaded the Energy’s charge in the fourth.
The pint-sized spitfire scored all his 14 points in the fourth quarter as he gave the Energy a huge boost and the Hotshots simply had no answer to his surprise barrage.
Already assured of a berth in the quarterfinals, the Energy improved their placing with the win and rose to 5-5, still good for seventh place. Barako now has a good shot of landing a spot in the Top 6, which offers a twice-to-beat incentive in the next round. Should the Energy win their last game against Blackwater, they will be in good position to finish in the Top 6.
‘’Our players just responded and I would like to hand it to our veterans,’’ said Barako Bull coach Koy Banal. ‘’They took responsibility and we were able to bounce back.’’
As for Star, which seemed to be in control in the third quarter before losing grip in the fourth, it fell to 3-7, losing five of its last six games. More importantly, the Hotshots need to win their final assignment to formalize their entry in the quarters and avoid any complications.
Right now, eight teams are safely in the playoffs, namely San Miguel, Rain or Shine, Alaska, GlobalPort, Talk ‘N Text, Barangay Ginebra, Barako Bull and NLEX. The last two spots are being disputed by Star, Blackwater and Mahindra with one of them joining Meralco in an early vacation once the dust settles.
Overall, Barako Bull clobbered Star, 34-12, in the fourth period to grab the victory.
The scores:
BARAKO 101 – Urbiztondo 24, Intal 18, Wilson 18, Fortuna 14, Pennisi 14, Brondial 6, Monfort 5, Lanete 2, Baracael 0, Miranda 0.
STAR 83 – Barroca 17, Yap 12, Sangalang 11, Pingris 10, Mallari 9, Taha 7, Cruz 5, Melton 5, Pascual 4, Torres 3, Simon 0.
Quarters: 25-28, 45-45, 67-71, 101-83\
Games Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:15 p.m. – Meralco vs. Rain or Shine
7 p.m. – Alaska vs. San Miguel
