The Petron Blaze Boosters cruised to their fifth straight victory, leading from start to finish to trample the Barako Bull Energy Colas, 91-78, last night in the 38th PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The win kept Petron within striking distance with the Alaska Aces, who are still unbeaten in five outings.
Petron’s next assignment will be against the Aces.
Former NBA player Renaldo Balkman tallied 33 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four steals as the Boosters cemented their hold of solo second place with a 5-1 (win-loss) card.
Petron got a huge lift from former Energy Cola Ronald Tubid, who came up with crucial three-pointers when Barako Bull tried to claw back.
The Energy Colas staged a 15-4 spurt and moved within 74-62 inside the final five minutes.
Petron quickly doused the run with Balkman hitting two free throws and a three-point play restoring a 79-62 lead.
Tubid helped Petron completely put the game away by hitting a triple and completing a four-point play to beat the shot clock.
Petron took a commanding 86-68 lead with less three minutes to play after those makes.
Tubid wound up with 10 points and became the 66th member of the league’s 5,000-point club.
Arwind Santos contributed 14 points for Petron, while Cebuano center June Mar Fajardo tallied 10.
Evan Brock collected 20 points, 24 rebounds and four blocked shots for Barako Bull, which tasted its third loss in six games.