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.

Published on November 18, 2011

Dennis Miranda came through when his team needed it most as Petron Blaze survived Barako Bull's upset try and hang on to a 75-66 victory yesterday that solidified its place at third place in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. 

Miranda poured in 10 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter including nine in a long stretch that saw the Boosters turning a 54-59 deficit to a commanding 75-64 bulge that resulted in their fourth win in row and seventh overall against three losses that was good enough to send them closer to the pace-setting Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters (7-1) and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (7-2).

Denok Miranda keyed a fourth-quarter break-away to lift Petron Blaze to a hard-earned 75-66 win over Barako Bull Friday in the 2011 PBA Philippine Cup at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Miranda had seven points in the Boosters’ decisive 15-2 run to turn a 60-62 deficit into a 75-64 advantage with 1:19 remaining as Petron notched its fourth straight win for a third-best 7-3 win-loss mark.

The 6’0 former FEU guard finished with a game-high 21 points while Arwind Santos added 15 markers and 14 rebounds. The comebacking Lordy Tugade contributed 11 in his return with the Boosters.

“Denok (Miranda) played like noong championship (Governors’ Cup finals). Nung off ang shooters namin, he stepped up. Lordy stepped up big also,” said Petron head coach Ato Agustin.

Petron Blaze had just enough cushion before Rain or Shine made its move to hang on for a 90-80 win in the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Boosters erected leads of 27 points twice in the third period, then survived the mini-run of the Elasto Painters in the final quarter to notch their third straight win for the solo third spot with a 6-3 win-loss mark.

Arwind Santos posted a monster game with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks while rookie Chris Lutz returned from a hamstring injury and contributed 22 points.

Published on November 12, 2011

Rain or Shine coach Joseller "Yeng" Guiao knows they have all the reasons to be happy as the Elasto Painters have bucked the odds and are on top of the PBA Philippine Cup standings right now. 

However, Guiao emphasized that everything, including their current pride and joy, is just temporary. "We're happy we're on top of the standings but we're aware we're in a fragile situation because once we relax and we lose one or two games, we'll crumble," said Guiao. 

"Our attitude is cautious optimism. "We have the confidence now but we can't be too complacent because the moment we do, there's a chance we might start relaxing and commit errors," he added.

Published on November 9, 2011

Petron Blaze got a huge lift from an unexpected source when the Boosters blew Shopinas.com away with a record-setting production in the third quarter. 

 Rob Reyes, a 6-foot-6 back-up center who rarely makes an impact in a game, was in his best element in the third quarter Wednesday night, helping the Boosters dispatch the Clickers, 102-77, for their second straight win in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Reyes, who averaged just 1.8 points in the conference, finished the game with seven points and had a career-high four blocks he all collected in the telling quarter. 

Except for a little breakdown late in the second period, Petron Blaze played perfectly on both ends of the court and smashed Shopinas.com, 102-77, for its second straight win in the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

The Boosters used a mind-boggling 23-0 run in the third period to break away from what had been a tight game after the Clickers made their run toward the end of the first half and trail only by 3, 43-36, going into the break.

Joseph Yeo engineered the third quarter blast, while Arwind Santos highlighted the run with a one-hand throw-down as Petron handed Shopinas its 8th straight loss in as many games.

Talk ‘N Text hopes that the shooting incident involving Ali Peek won’t be a distraction when it collides with Powerade in the main game of the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Tropang Texters lost another big man in Peek, who was shot in the neck by an unidentified gunman Monday night after the player’s plyometric training session at the RFM Gymnasium in Mandaluyong City.

Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes said the 36-year old Peek is now out of danger but the bullet is still lodged on his neck and doctors at the Medical City are awaiting the decision of the relatives regarding the surgery.

Published on November 8, 2011

NEW franchise Shopinas.com may be the only team yet to post a victory midway through the elimination round of the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup but Petron Blaze knows it can’t afford to take it easy against the Clickers. 

 After all, some coaches say it’s just a matter of time before Shopinas.com clicks and pulls off its first win. The Clickers almost did that against Petron’s sister team, Barangay Ginebra, which escaped with a 94-90 overtime win.