Boosters mangle Shopinas for 5-3

THE Petron Blaze Boosters earned their second straight victory by manhandling the listless Shopinas.com Clickers, 102-77, last night in the 37th PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Boosters hiked their record to 5-3 (win-loss), scoring a second straight win after succumbing to three straight defeats. Petron came from an, 86-80 win over the Alaska Aces in their showdown at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City last Saturday.

With their superior lineup, the Boosters dominated the Clickers in the opening period and quickly tore the game apart by erecting a 30-18 lead.

The Clickers, however, put up some resistance in the second period and gallantly fought back to end the half down by just three, 43-46.

Shopinas.com’s hopes of pulling an upset vanished in thin air when it managed to score just nine points in the third quarter while giving up 30 points.

That searing third quarter rally gave the Boosters a huge, 76-52 lead going into the fourth where they continued to pummel the Clickers to ice the one-sided win.

Arwind Santos led four other Boosters in double figures by scoring 18 points. Joseph Yeo and Alex Cabagnot both finished with 16 points, while Rey Guevarra and Denok Miranda tallied 12 each.

Renren Ritualo scattered 17 markers for the Clickers, who stayed winless after eight games.

BOX SCORES
PETRON (102)- Santos 18, Yeo 16, Cabagnot 16, Guevarra 12, Miranda 12 Reyes 7, Sharma 6, Doruelo 5, Agustin 4, Baclao 4, Ildefonso 2.
SHOPINAS.COM (77)- Ritualo 17, Jazul 16, Sena 13, Mirza 7, Se 6, Menor 5, Aquino 5, Sison 4, Espiritu 4, Hermida 0, Duncil 0, Daa 0, Hubalde 0. QUARTERSCORES: 30-18, 46-43, 76-52, 102-77. /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA