Barako Bull drops close one to Kia, loses hold of lead
The Kia Carnival caught a big fish in snapping out of a two-game slide as they shocked the Barako Bull Energy, 71-68, last night in the 40th PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Kia firmed up its hold of the fourth spot, keeping alive its bid of earning a twice-to-beat incentive in the playoff with its fourth win in seven games.
The top four teams after the elimination round will enjoy twice-to-beat edges in the quarterfinal round.
The loss dislodged the Energy from the number one spot, falling to second place along with the Alaska Aces with identical 6-2 (win-loss) records.
The Barako Bull loss pushed the red-hot San Miguel Beermen to the number one spot with a 7-2 slate.
Only Asian import Jet Chang and LA Revilla scored in twin digits for Kia with 15 and 10 points, respectively, but scoring wasn’t a problem for the Carnival as they banked on a stifling defense to bring down the Energy.
Barako Bull’s total output was its lowest in the conference.
The Energy, who went into the game averaging 108.3 points a game, shot just 25-for-72 from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
Kia’s stifling defense particularly focused on one player.
“Number one si Joseph Yeo sa defense namin,” said Kia assistant coach Chito Victolero. “We wanted him to pass the ball and not to take the shot.”
The Carnival succeeded in thwarting Yeo, who, after averaging 22.75 points prior to the game, failed to score a single point, missing all of his 11 field goal attempts.
Carlo Lastimosa and Chico Lanete paced Barako Bull with 13 points each. Import Liam McMorrow added 12 and 16 rebounds, while RR Garcia pitched in 11.
THE SCORES
KIA (71)- Chang 15, Revilla 10, Thiele 9, Bagtsing 9, N’Diaye 8, Deutchman 8, Alvarez 5, Webb 4, Buensuceso 3, Dehesa 0, Nuyles 0, Pascual 0.
BARAKO BULL (68)- Lastimosa 13, Lanete 13, McMorrow 12, Garcia 11, Maierhofer 9, Intal 4, Wilson 4, Pascual 2, Yeo 0, Hubalde 0, Chua 0, Ababou 0.
QUARTERSCORES: 18-23, 35-34, 54-54, 71-68.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
