(From PBA)
LORRENZO Wade may be doing some positive things for B-Meg Derby Ace, but the Llamados themselves are wondering whether his skills are enough to fulfill their quest in the PBA Fiesta Conference.
“Is he right for us? Does he fit the need? Those questions will be answered in the next few days,” Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio said after Wade led his team to a 93-80 win over Barako Energy Coffee Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Wade led all scorers with 27 points, on top of another game-high 17 rebounds which he added with seven assists, three steals and three shotblocks but the fact he failed to contain his chief defensive assignment in Leo Najorda rankles at Gregorio the most.
“It’s a good time to evaluate him,” said Gregorio, whose team is up for a 12-day break while he coaches the North team in the All-Star Weekend starting Friday at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum.
Actually, it is not only his import’s defensive shortcomings that gnaw at Gregorio, but his team’s lack of a sustained offensive sock as a whole. This showed in the way how his team led by 19 points early on but still got severely threatened by an import-less Barako team.
Good thing the likes of Wade, PJ Simon and James Yap managed to come through with the needed firepower that made sure Derby Ace would not suffer a third straight loss against a vastly handicapped opponent.
Derby Ace played its fifth game minus Kerby Ramundo, who is still undergoing rehab on his right knee, and Marc Pingris, who hurt his neck against Alaska. That is still no excuse for almost blowing what was once a 41-22 lead and practically allowing the Coffee Masters to come within 49-53.
“I really don’t know what’s plaguing us,” said Gregorio. “We came in with little fire, and when they started to chip down our lead that’s the only time we woke up.”
After dropping back-to-back games against Coca-Cola, minus the injured James Penny in the last 5:08, and Alaska, with a fouled-out Diamon Simpson in the final 3:43, Derby Ace improved to a 3-2 win-loss slate.
What Derby Ace will definitely work on improving, promised Gregorio, is scoring more than its average of 83.8 going into Wednesday’s game, worst in the league.
“We scored well today because our opponent didn’t have an import. But for the majority of the game we were in cruise control and it’s always scary,” he stated.
Behind the career-high 25 points by Najorda, Barako fought gallantly. But the absence of suspended reinforcement Sammy Monroe ultimately took its toll on the Energy Coffee Masters, who dropped further down the cellar with a 1-6 record after their sixth straight defeat.
Barako Coffee next sees action May 2 and coach Junel Baculi said they will also use the intervening time to fully decide on Monroe’s fate.
“I don’t know what our decision will be regarding our import,” he said. “It’s a long break, and we’d talk if we’d stay with him or change.”
Monroe averages a third conference-best 28.2 points per game but usually plays from the outside and this just won’t do for an undersized team like Barako.
“This league is very tough and an import should be versatile. He should be able to play both down low and from the perimeter,” Baculi explained. “The problem with Monroe is he can’t play low.
“It’s a matter of dimension, eh. Dapat inside-outside type of an import because our team is not as talented or as big as the other teams. It’s just the heart that’s fuelling us.”
The loss was actually Barako’s 19th in 21 games dating back to the previous conference, when it wound up 10th.
The Coffee Masters’ worthiest stand came in the third quarter, when it managed to come within four behind Najorda, Rob Wainwright and Paolo Hubalde.
There was simply no stopping the Llamados, however, as they again ratcheted their efforts on both ends of the court to take a 70-57 lead into the final period.
The Coffee Masters were seemingly running on vapors by then as James Yap led the Llamados’ charge to an 89-70 spread, only 3:40 left.
What finally took the fight out of Barako was another 14-6 exchange that reinstated a 19-point 89-70 difference for Derby Ace.
Derby Ace started ripping the game wide open with several surges and Wade was at the forefront of the Llamados’ mustering a 46-34 halftime lead.
Wade already had 17 points and nine rebounds at the half, doing his thing most on drives and fastbreaks that usually end in a rim-rattling dunk.
James Yap added eight points and five assists as the Llamados used a 10-0 run to build up a 33-15 spread before a 5-0 spurt gave Derby Ace its biggest lead yet at 41-22. Wade scored six points in the first charge and three in the second.
The game was actually close only in the first seven minutes, when Barako moved within 7-10 on Al Vergara’s drive. Then Nino Canaleta and Roger Yap conspired with Wade for a 13-6 bomb that ended the first quarter and staked the Llamados ahead for good 23-13. (NC)
The scores:
B-Meg Derby Ace 93 – Wade 27, Yap 18, Canaleta 10,Yap R. 9, Artadi 7, Maierhofer 5, Simon 5, Reavis 5, Salvador 2, Adducul 2, Allado 2, Timberlake 1.
Barako Energy Coffee 80 – Najorda 25, Gaco 14, Reyes 11, Wainwright 9, Hubalde 8, Vergara 6, Juntilla 3, Alonzo 2, Aljamal 2, Faundo 0, Simaunahan 0.
Quarterscores: 23-13, 46-34, 70-57, 93-80.
LORRENZO Wade may be doing some positive things for B-Meg Derby Ace, but the Llamados themselves are wondering whether his skills are enough to fulfill their quest in the PBA Fiesta Conference.
“Is he right for us? Does he fit the need? Those questions will be answered in the next few days,” Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio said after Wade led his team to a 93-80 win over Barako Energy Coffee Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Wade led all scorers with 27 points, on top of another game-high 17 rebounds which he added with seven assists, three steals and three shotblocks but the fact he failed to contain his chief defensive assignment in Leo Najorda rankles at Gregorio the most.
“It’s a good time to evaluate him,” said Gregorio, whose team is up for a 12-day break while he coaches the North team in the All-Star Weekend starting Friday at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum.
Actually, it is not only his import’s defensive shortcomings that gnaw at Gregorio, but his team’s lack of a sustained offensive sock as a whole. This showed in the way how his team led by 19 points early on but still got severely threatened by an import-less Barako team.
Good thing the likes of Wade, PJ Simon and James Yap managed to come through with the needed firepower that made sure Derby Ace would not suffer a third straight loss against a vastly handicapped opponent.
Derby Ace played its fifth game minus Kerby Ramundo, who is still undergoing rehab on his right knee, and Marc Pingris, who hurt his neck against Alaska. That is still no excuse for almost blowing what was once a 41-22 lead and practically allowing the Coffee Masters to come within 49-53.
“I really don’t know what’s plaguing us,” said Gregorio. “We came in with little fire, and when they started to chip down our lead that’s the only time we woke up.”
After dropping back-to-back games against Coca-Cola, minus the injured James Penny in the last 5:08, and Alaska, with a fouled-out Diamon Simpson in the final 3:43, Derby Ace improved to a 3-2 win-loss slate.
What Derby Ace will definitely work on improving, promised Gregorio, is scoring more than its average of 83.8 going into Wednesday’s game, worst in the league.
“We scored well today because our opponent didn’t have an import. But for the majority of the game we were in cruise control and it’s always scary,” he stated.
Behind the career-high 25 points by Najorda, Barako fought gallantly. But the absence of suspended reinforcement Sammy Monroe ultimately took its toll on the Energy Coffee Masters, who dropped further down the cellar with a 1-6 record after their sixth straight defeat.
Barako Coffee next sees action May 2 and coach Junel Baculi said they will also use the intervening time to fully decide on Monroe’s fate.
“I don’t know what our decision will be regarding our import,” he said. “It’s a long break, and we’d talk if we’d stay with him or change.”
Monroe averages a third conference-best 28.2 points per game but usually plays from the outside and this just won’t do for an undersized team like Barako.
“This league is very tough and an import should be versatile. He should be able to play both down low and from the perimeter,” Baculi explained. “The problem with Monroe is he can’t play low.
“It’s a matter of dimension, eh. Dapat inside-outside type of an import because our team is not as talented or as big as the other teams. It’s just the heart that’s fuelling us.”
The loss was actually Barako’s 19th in 21 games dating back to the previous conference, when it wound up 10th.
The Coffee Masters’ worthiest stand came in the third quarter, when it managed to come within four behind Najorda, Rob Wainwright and Paolo Hubalde.
There was simply no stopping the Llamados, however, as they again ratcheted their efforts on both ends of the court to take a 70-57 lead into the final period.
The Coffee Masters were seemingly running on vapors by then as James Yap led the Llamados’ charge to an 89-70 spread, only 3:40 left.
What finally took the fight out of Barako was another 14-6 exchange that reinstated a 19-point 89-70 difference for Derby Ace.
Derby Ace started ripping the game wide open with several surges and Wade was at the forefront of the Llamados’ mustering a 46-34 halftime lead.
Wade already had 17 points and nine rebounds at the half, doing his thing most on drives and fastbreaks that usually end in a rim-rattling dunk.
James Yap added eight points and five assists as the Llamados used a 10-0 run to build up a 33-15 spread before a 5-0 spurt gave Derby Ace its biggest lead yet at 41-22. Wade scored six points in the first charge and three in the second.
The game was actually close only in the first seven minutes, when Barako moved within 7-10 on Al Vergara’s drive. Then Nino Canaleta and Roger Yap conspired with Wade for a 13-6 bomb that ended the first quarter and staked the Llamados ahead for good 23-13. (NC)
The scores:
B-Meg Derby Ace 93 – Wade 27, Yap 18, Canaleta 10,Yap R. 9, Artadi 7, Maierhofer 5, Simon 5, Reavis 5, Salvador 2, Adducul 2, Allado 2, Timberlake 1.
Barako Energy Coffee 80 – Najorda 25, Gaco 14, Reyes 11, Wainwright 9, Hubalde 8, Vergara 6, Juntilla 3, Alonzo 2, Aljamal 2, Faundo 0, Simaunahan 0.
Quarterscores: 23-13, 46-34, 70-57, 93-80.
No comments:
Post a Comment