Allowing his players more leeway to create their own situations and differentiating from his usual starting unit a bit, Cone was rewarded by the Llamados with a 97-80 win over Powerade Wednesday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
PJ Simon was reverted back to his usual off-guard spot but still among B-Meg's starters and promptly responded by starring on both ends of the court, scoring a game-high 21 points and anchoring some fine defensive efforts.
"We decided to kind of shelf our unconventional lineup, which is not having a pure point guard. We decided to change that today and that got everybody back into their comfort zone," related Cone, who started Josh Urbiztondo as playmaker in lieu of Simon.
As a direct result, B-Meg improved its win-loss record to 2-3 and tied Powerade, which absorbed its second straight setback. James Yap added 20, the bulk coming in a first quarter breakaway, before the likes of rookie Mark Barroca and Joe Devance joined in and helped get the job done.
All the while, Simon anchored the defense on Gary David and Marcio Lassiter before joining hands with Urbiztondo in quashing the Tigers' fightback from as much as a 29-point deficit, earning special mention from Cone.
"I thought PJ came out and became a committed defender. He did a great job on Gary and also Lassiter in the first half," said Cone. The way his charges generally played a great game also pleased Cone no end as the specter of a third straight loss was easily dispelled.
"We talked about putting a good one together and we did put a good one together," he stated, already looking ahead at their next game against Barako Bull in Panabo City on Saturday. "I hope we can play better then than what we did today," said Cone. "I'm pleased with our effort, especially our defense."
Lassiter scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the second half and had Sean Anthony as main partner during a torrid run that brought Powerade within 65-74, still 7:08 remaining in the game.
Anthony had two triples and eight of his total 13 points while Lassiter added six points off his three steals in that stretch that whittled what was a 68-48 B-Meg lead after the third period.
Then Urbiztondo buried a wide open trey and found Simon for a triple and a layup that jacked their lead back up to 17.
"We were holding the ball too long, allowing us to get rushed," said Cone. "Then Josh hit that 3 and Simon hit his own and that settled us back down. That's what our second group was supposed to do."
Devance's four points came during an 8-5 surge that put the outcome fully beyond doubt 90-70, only 2:22 left.
David missed his first six shots and wound up with seven points. He did not buy a baskiet until the last 6:43 mark of the third period and wound up shooting 3-for-13 from the field for his lowest output in the last five conferences.
JVee Casio was also shaky in only his second game from the knee injury that sidelined him in Powerade's first three games. The star playmaker for the national team missed his first six shots and wound up with only five points.
The burden of providing the needed points fell on the shoulders of Anthony, who had a triple in a 7-0 run winding up the third canto that cut what was an imposing 41-68 deficit.
It was Yap in the first quarter before Simon took the lead in the second period. The two-time MVP scattered 12 of his points in the opening period, including five that sparked a 9-0 run from a 2-5 deficit. He added seven more during a 13-4 close out.
The hole dug by Powerade when it made just three of its first 17 shots got deeper as the game wore on and as B-Meg grew hotter.
By the time Simon buried his first triple and Rico Maierhofer looped in a twinner, it was a 38-18 difference which B-Meg stretched to 46-25 at the half. The lead got stretched even more when the Llamados scored the first eight points of the third period. (NC)
The scores:
B-MEG 97 - Simon 21, Yap J. 20, Barroca 11, De Vance 10, Urbiztondo 9, Raymundo 7, Pingris 6, Yap R. 6, Reavis 5, Maierhofer 2, Acuna 0.
POWERADE 80 - Lassiter 15, Anthony 13, Kramer 8, Cruz 8, Lingganay 7, Vanlandingham 7, David 7, Adducul 7, Casio 5, Antonio 3, Calimag 0, Crisano 0.
Quarterscores: 24-9, 46-25, 68-48, 97-80
Source: pba.ph
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