Barako Bull Beats Petron

Barako Bull import Leroy Hickerson showed no signs of jetlag as he teamed up with Ronald Tubid and Doug Kramer to lead the Energy to a 111-107 come-from-behind win over Petron in the PBA Governors Cup Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Hickerson, who arrived early Friday morning, had a near triple-double effort behind game-highs of 32 points and seven assists to go with eight rebounds.

Tubid and Kramer tallied 17 points each with the former shooting 7-of-10 from the field and the latter grabbing 10 rebounds.

"We were lucky. It's good that Leroy (Hickerson) has played here before. He (Hickerson) knows some players of ours and Petron, he also knows Eddie (Baden)," said Energy coach Junel Baculi.

"Hopefully we can follow it up (with another win) on Wednesday," he added as Barako will face the Air21 Express on June 13 at the Big Dome.

Baculi said they fetched Hickerson from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport then accompanied him to the Games and Amusements office (GAB) and to the PBA headquarters in Libis, Quezon City.

"He's in (game) shape but during our pre-game huddle, his eyes were red. He let the locals run the show for a while then when he rested the locals took over especially Willie (Miller)."

A Chris Lutz three-pointer gave Petron a 14-point spread, with still over three minutes left in the secondperiod. The Boosters still enjoyed a 91-81 lead in the final minute of the third period.

A Tubid trey, in the closing seconds of the third, sparked Barako's comeback.

The Energy used a 21-14 exchange, matching every basket made by the Boosters, for a 105-105 count with one minute and 52 seconds left in the game.

A Basden reverse lay-up put Petron ahead for the last time, 107-105, as the Energyscored the last six points to complete the comeback win.

Hickerson's shot block over Basden highlighted Barako's closing 6-0 run.

Miller finished with 16 points while Leo Najorda added 10 markers for the Energy, who evened their record to 2-2.

Basden and Jay Washington tallied 23 points each for Petron (3-2), while Lutz and Alex Cabagnot scored 16 and 12 apiece. — JVP, GMA News

Scores:

Barako Bull 111—Hickerson 32, Tubid 17, Kramer 17, Miller 16, Najorda 10, Allado 9, Weinstein 3, Pennisi 3, Cervantes 2, Gatumbato 2, Sharma 0, Cruz 0.

Petron 107—Basden 23, Washington 23, Lutz 16, Cabagnot 12, Yeo 8, Santos 8, Ildefonso 8, Pena 7, Miranda 2, Reyes 0.

Quarter scores: 30-34, 52-64, 84-91, 111-107.



Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/261191/sports/basketball/pba-barako-bull-rallies-to-beat-petron-111-107