Import Liam McMorrow and the rest of Barako Bull found a way to decode Globalport’s vaunted zone defense and romped to a 123-114 victory to keep the solo lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Meanwhile, defending champion Star Hotshots got 26 points from Joe Devance and 19 points with 19 rebounds from Marqus Blakely in an 89-82 victory over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Star improved to 3-4 while Ginebra fell to 3-5.
The 7-foot-2 Canadian scored a career-high 41 points while adding 27 rebounds and five blocks in nearly 47 minutes of action as the Energy overcame a tough Batang Pier side to post their sixth win in seven outings this conference.
The victory pushed Barako Bull closer to clinching its fourth straight quarterfinals appearance. But more than that, the Energy boosted their bid to earning the twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs.
McMorrow, who made 11-of-15 shots and converted 19-of-22 free throws, did most of the damage in the third period where he scored 17 of Barako’s 42 points against Globalport’s 30.
That came after Barako struggled against the zone of Globalport, which even led 48-39 in the second quarter.
Globalport absorbed its second straight defeat and dropped to an even 4-4 record.
Import Jarrid Famous finished with 32 points and 22 rebounds while the league’s leading scorer Terrence Romeo added 30 markers.
Globalport threatened late when Krayem’s three cut Barako’s lead to 114-110 with 1:14 to play. But Famous committed a turnover after stealing the ball, allowing Barako to preserve the win.
Scores:
BARAKO BULL 123 – McMorrow 41, Yeo 19, Lastimosa 14, Intal 14, Garcia 10, Wilson 9, Lanete 6, Ababou 6, Pascual 4, Chua 0, Maierhofer 0.
GLOBALPORT 114 – Famous 32, Romeo 30, Pringle 16, Krayem 11, Buenafe 8, Kramer 8, Mamaril 4, Semerad 3, Ponferada 2, Hayes 0, Jensen 0.
Quarters: 27-20, 45-50, 87-80, 123-114.
Second Game:
STAR 89 – Devance 26, Blakely 19, Barroca 12, Mallari 9, Simon 7, Yap 7, Taha 5, Reavis 2, Pingris 2, Pennisi 0.
GINEBRA 82 – Johnson 35, Aguilar 18, Mercado 9, Kim 8, Slaughter 4, Caguioa 4, Tenorio 2, Urbiztondo 1, Marcelo 1, Pena 0, Helterbrand 0, Brondial 0.
Quarters: 25-9, 42-34, 64-63, 89-82.