Petron Blaze leaned on big shots from Alex Cabagnot and Dennis Miranda in the fourth quarter to beat Meralco, 91-84, and take Game One of their best-of-three quarterfinal series in the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Friday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Cabagnot had two straight four-point plays while Miranda hit a three-point shot and a three-point play that helped the Boosters secure the win. Petron needs just one more win to meet defending champion Talk ’N Text in the best-of-seven semifinals.

Arwind Santos finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, rookie Chris Lutz added 18 while Cabagnot dished out an all-around performance with 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Published on December 2, 2011

MERALCO is safely in the playoffs. So why risk injuries to players by playing hard, right? Wrong. 

The Bolts came out with the same passion and intensity of a ballclub hanging on for its dear life, making the key defensive stops down the stretch in overcoming Powerade Friday night, 100-98, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. 

 Sol Mercado scored 23 points and Gabby Espinas collected 14 points, 11 rebounds and two critical blocks in the fourth quarter as Meralco eclipsed the seven victories it posted in its maiden tournament – the Philippine Cup – last season.

Meralco derailed Powerade’s entry into the quarterfinal stage after pulling off a hard-earned 100-98 win in the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Friday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts needed a pair of defensive stops from Gabby Espinas to preserve the win and boost their own chance for a possible playoff for the No. 2 spot as they improved their mark to 8-5.

The loss also ended the Tigers’ two-game run, and dropped their win-loss record to 5-8 slate. It also meant that Alaska (3-9) is still in contention for the last quarterfinal seat.

Published on November 26, 2011

NAGA CITY – Arwind Santos knocked in the go-ahead shot then helped Denok Miranda stop Macmac Cardona in the ensuing play as Petron Blaze squeaked past Meralco, 76-75, in their PBA Philippine Cup out-of-town showdown at the Naga City Coliseum here Saturday night. 

The Boosters squandered an 11-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter but hung tough in a battle at the finish as they stayed on a roll and closed in on the front-running Talk n Text Tropang Texters (8-1) with eight wins against three losses.

Arwind Santos bailed Petron out of trouble, nailing the game-winning basket in the Blaze Boosters' thrilling 76-75 win over Meralco Saturday night in Naga City. 

Santos had a game-high 23 points, none more important than the one he made in the final 58.6 seconds that sealed the deal for the Blaze Boosters. 

The Bolts, who rallied back from a 64-53 third-quarter deficit, botched their final field goal attempt and their chance of wining the game as Mark Cardona misfired his shot in the waning seconds of the tightly-fought contest.

Superstar forward Arwind Santos registered another monstrous performance, finishing with a double-double to fuel the Petron Blaze Boosters in a 76-75 thriller over the Meralco Bolts in the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Saturday at the Naga City Coliseum in Camarines Sur.

Santos rifled 23 points, including the game-winning jumper, along with 11 rebounds and two blocks to lead Petron to its fifth straight victory. They now enjoy the solo second spot in the team standings with an 8-3 win-loss record behind the 8-1 slate of league leaders Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters.

The Meralco Bolts sparked a late rally in the third quarter to cruise to an 83-75 win over the slumping Barako Bull Energy Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Mark Cardona led all scorers with his 17 points along with four rebounds and two steals, while center Asi Taulava registered a double-double performance of 10 points and 17 rebounds to help Meralco move up to fourth place in the standings with a 7-4 win-loss record.

After Barako Bull guard Paul Artadi tied the game at 50-all in the third period, Meralco suddenly blasted off an 11-0 run, capped by guard Sol Mercado’s attack to the basket to end the quarter.

Forward Niño Canaleta fired 21 points, while his teammates scored crucial baskets in the endgame to fuel the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings to an 85-77 victory over the Alaska Aces Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Canaleta also had eight rebounds and four three-pointers to lead Ginebra, which reverted its player rotation to allow its old mainstays to play more minutes. In their past games, the Gin Kings tried to inject youth to their aging lineup by giving its young players heavy playing time.

Veteran guards Mike Cortez, who chipped in 13 points and four assists, and Jayjay Helterbrand, who poured in 10 points and seven assists, doused water in Alaska’s fiery run in the late stretches of the game.

Published on November 23, 2011

Ageless Asi Taulava turned back time and came through with a mammoth performance as Meralco downed Barako Bull, 83-75, to leap to solo fourth spot in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday. 

Mark Cardona fired 17 points while Gabby Espinas, Solomon Mercado and Mark Isip chipped in 16, 12 and 10, respectively. 

Taulava, who turned 38 this year, however, played the biggest as he came through with monster numbers of 10 points and his conference high 17 rebounds as the Bolts nailed their seventh win against four losses to improve from a share of No. 4 with idle B-Meg (6-4) to solo hold of it.

Published on November 22, 2011

Meralco has not won more than two games in a row in the PBA Philippine Cup. 

But it has kept itself in the upper half of the team standings by being one of only two remaining teams that has not lost back-to-back games in the conference. 

Coming off a week’s rest since a 98-96 win over Powerade a week ago, the Bolts take on dangerous Barako Bull Wednesday, aiming to win consecutive games for already the third time in the conference.