Boosters, Aces chalk up separate wins to forge championship showdown in Sinulog Cup

The Petron Blaze Boosters and the Alaska Aces remained unbeaten in the 2013 Sinulog Cup as they beat their respective opponents yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Boosters stayed on the winning track as they routed the hosts M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños, 94-68, in the first game while the Aces had to go through an extra period before subduing the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, 101-95, in the second game.

The win allowed the Boosters to grab their second win in a row after opening the tournament with an 90-83 win over sister team Ginebra on Thursday night. Alaska also won over the Niños, 83-81, on that day.

With the victories, Alaska and Petron forged a championship showdown today at the same venue.

Ginebra and MLKP have yet to win in this tournament after two games. Both will meet also today hoping to avoid finishing the tournament without a win.

Former New York Knick and Denver Nugget forward Renaldo Balkman once again strutted his stuff as the Petron import paced the winners with 23 points, a day after scoring 28 against the Kings.

Balkman also got plenty of help from guard Alex Cabagnot, who got 14 points while Cebuano big man June Fajardo, who was back at his old stomping grounds, showed flashes of potential with 11 points. Fellow big man Dorian Pena chipped in 10 markers.

The Niños actually held a 24-22 lead after the first quarter but the Boosters asserted their height and heft advantage and zoomed off to a 54-44 lead early in the third.

Petron tightened up its defense so much so that M. Lhuillier’s star big man Ben Mbala was held down to just five points the entire second half.

The Boosters established their largest lead at 21, 83-62, with seven minutes left in the game and cruised to the victory.

The Niños, on the other hand, crashed to their second straight loss after they were bested by the Alaska Aces, 81-83, in their first game.

Mbala finished with 17 points while Abby Santos had 12.

BOX SCORES

Petron (94)- Balkman 23, Cabagnot 14, Fajardo 11, Peña 10, Washington 8, Lanete 6, Lutz 6, Miranda 6, Tubid 6, Santos 2, Faundo 2

M.Lhuillier (68) –Mbala 17, Santos 12, Magsumbol 7, Rodriguez 7, Saguindel 6, Saladaga 5, Heruela 4, Armecin 4.