DESPITE what he deemed as an affront to his team Gary David seemed intent on just coasting along Sunday evening.
Then came an incident that banished a teammate and fired him up for good.
The result was David exploding for 37 points, lifting Powerade past B-MEG for the second straight game 131-123 in overtime to crash the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
David scattered 23 of his points in the fourth period and overtime to lead the Tigers' charge from being No. 8 at the end of eliminations and past the top-seeded Lllamados to arrange a best-of-seven semis duel with either Barangay Ginebra or Rain or Shine.
Welcome to the Gary David Show.
David erupted for 37 points, highlighted by eight three-pointers, to lead Powerade to a classic 131-123 overtime win to knock off No. 1 seed B-MEG in the quarterfinals of the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Picking up from where he left off in his team’s 97-88 win in the first game, David played like a man possessed in the last 17 minutes of the match, hitting one big shot after another as the Tigers repeated their unbelievable performance against the heavily-favored Llamados.
Powerade tries to complete a gigantic upset against top seed B-MEG as they square off in a knockout game in the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Tigers eye their second win in the row against the Llamados in the lone game at 6 p.m. to be just the third team in the history of the PBA playoffs to dislodge a No. 1 ranked team.
“After the win, there are no doubts in the minds of the players we can compete against B-MEG,” said Powerade coach Bo Perasol, whose team forced a do-or-die game with a 97-88 win last Wednesday.
B-Meg coach Tim Cone insists their twice-to-beat advantage over Powerade in their PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals match-up is not a sure ticket to the next round.
Cone considers Powerade a threat that can be very dangerous if his B-Meg Llamados don’t do their job.
The Llamados, the elimination round topnotchers, take their first of two cracks at the semifinals in taking on the Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We’ll have to be sharp right at the get-go. In a short series like this, there’s a very little margin for error,” said Cone.
The B-MEG Araneta Coliseum?
The historic venue may currently have a naming rights deal with SMART, but in the ongoing Philippine Cup, the Llamados have made the Big Dome their homecourt.
Believe it or not, B-MEG was a perfect 9-0 during the eliminations at the Cubao, Quezon City venue.
In the Llamados’ current eight-game winning streak, the last seven were carved out at the Big Dome.
With a 10-4 win-loss record, B-MEG only won once outside the coliseum, on November 11 at the Cuneta Astrodome, a 95-79 rout of Meralco.
B-MEG secured the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinal round with just one sizzling first quarter performance.
The Llamados banked on a 28-11 start in the first 12 minutes in booking a spot in the top two with an expected 86-74 win over Shopinas.com in the 2011 PBA Philippine Cup Thursday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
James Yap, Josh Urbiztondo and Marc Pingris were responsible in erecting that huge lead as B-MEG never looked back and stretched its winning run to a season-high eight games and finished the elimination round with a 10-4 slot.
MANILA, Philippines - NBA Hall of Famer Alex English will be in town for only a week to observe the Petron Blaze Boosters, particularly big men Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Carlo Sharma and Noy Baclao whom he will train for two months next year.
“We believe a two-month period of training is enough. Alex English doesn’t need to be here year round,” said SMC basketball operations chief Robert Non.
Petron tapped the former eight-time NBA All-Star player as skills coach following the transfer of Alton Lister to Meralco. Lister is a 17-year NBA veteran with stints with the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle Super Sonics, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Published on November 29, 2011
B-Meg kept in step with Petron Blaze with both stretching their streaks to six games to dislodge Talk n Text as tournament leader Tuesday.
James Yap followed up a 32-point game with a 27-point showing while Kerby Raymundo put in double-double numbers as the Llamados drubbed the Tropang Texters, 114-104, before a crowd of over 10,000 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Games Tuesday (Smart-Araneta Coliseum)
5:15 p.m. — Petron Blaze vs Alaska
7:30 p.m. — B-Meg vs Talk ’N Text
MANILA, Philippines — With the way James Yap, Peter June Simon, and rookie Mark Barroca are playing, streaking B-Meg hopes to exact revenge against the undermanned defending champion Talk ’N Text squad when they clash Tuesday in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The Llamados and the Tropang Texters collide at 7:30 p.m., right after the 5:15 p.m. encounter between the Petron Blaze Boosters and the Alaska Aces at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
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