RP five whips Bacchus

People's Journal
October 27, 2007

Games Tuesday
(Ninoy Aquino)
2 p.m. -- Harbour Centre vs. Bacchus Energy Drink
4 p.m. -- RP Team vs. Toyota Balintawak

THE RP men’s team showed a glimpse of its true potential, routing Bacchus Energy Drink, 105-71, to post the most lopsided win so far in the 2008 PBL V-Go Energy Drink Cup.

The Nationals pounded the Raiders early on with their accurate outside shooting, nailing 8 three-pointers in the first half alone when they ripped the game open and set the tone for the one-sided game at The Arena in San Juan.

Boyet Bautista had three treys during that stretch and Patrick Cabahug two as the RP squad bound for the 24th Southeast Asian Games raced to 51-29 lead late in the second period.

Halftime ended with the Nationals ahead by 19 points.

“This is the way we should play. As the national team, dapat kami ang mag-set ng tone ng game. The past few games kasi, sumasabay lang kami sa level ng play ng PBL,” said national coach Junel Baculi.

The 34-point blowout is the second win in a row for the RP 5 after being stunned in their opening game by defending champion Harbour Centre, 83-74.

Big man Alex Crisano played well for the second straight game, topscoring for the Nationals with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 2 block shots. The controversial Fil-Am went 5-of-7 from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 from the stripe.

Jason Castro added 14 markers, and so did Cabahug and Bautista, whose two free throws with 2:22 left in the game gave the Nationals their biggest lead at 105-65.

Baculi said the Harbour Centre-backed RP team still has a lot more to offer especially on the defensive end. He expects the Nationals to be truly tested once they meet the league’s bigwigs.

“I think our true test will come against teams such as Toyota Balintawak, San Mig Coffee and Hapee Toothpaste,” said the outspoken coach.

The first of those acid test comes on Tuesday when the Nationals play the league-leading Road Kings at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Bacchus Energy Drink fell to its second straight loss, joining Mail & More and newcomer Pharex down the cellar of the tournament co-presented by Xtreme Magic Sing and supported by Gerry’s Grill, ACCEL, LED multi display, Suzuki Motors, Spalding and Gold’s Gym.

Mark Fampulme was the only player to finish in double figures for the Raiders with 12 points .

The scores

RP (105) -- Crisano 19, Castro 14, Bautista 14, Cabahug 14, Cruz 13, Salansang 10, Belga 8, Dela Cuesta 6, Alonzo 4, Chan 3, Fernandez 0, Tan 0.
Bacchus (71) -- Fampulme 12, Mondragon 9, Guevarra 8,
Cagoco 8, Martinez 7, Raymundo 6, Dizon 5, Llagas 5, Dela Cruz 4, Mendoza 3, Viardo 2, Labagala 2, Thiele 0, Williams 0.
Quarterscores: 34-28; 63-44; 85-59; 105-71.