THE PETRON Blaze Boosters started the month of November with a win over the Alaska Aces and ended the month with another victory against the same Alaska squad.
The Boosters completed an unbeaten run this month after they subdued the Aces, 90-85, last night in the 37th PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The hard-earned win made the Boosters unbeaten this month, stretching their winning streak to six that boosted their bid of earning a twice-to-beat edge going into the playoffs.
Petron hiked its record to 9-3 (win-loss). The Boosters now occupy first place after the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters lost to the B-Meg Llamados, 114-104, in yesterday’s main game anf drop to 8-3.
Petron started its winning run with an 86-80 win over Alaska in an out-of-town game last Nov. 5 in Lapu-Lapu City. Before that win, the Boosters were on a three-game skid.
Just like in their first meeting, this one was also close.
The Boosters erected double-digit leads in the first quarter but the Aces came back made the game close till the end.
Petron held on an 83-76 lead in the final 3:34 but Alaska staged a 9-0 run to move ahead, 85-83, with 1:27 left.
Failing to close the game out once again hurt Alaska, committing one turnover after another that allowed Petron to steal the win.
Denok Miranda and Arwind Santos scored back-to-back baskets, while L.A Tenorio had two crucial errors in the game’s scrambling finish.
Santos topped the Boosters with 24 points, while Alex Cabagnot and Miranda had 20 and 14, respectively.
Sonny Thoss scored 19 points, Mac Baracael and Tenorio finished with 13 each for Alaska, which remained stuck at ninth place with their ninth loss in 12 games. /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA