Shaking off jet lag, just arrived import LeRoy Hickerson exploded for 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Barako Bull Energy to a 111-107 come-from-behind victory against the defending champion Petron Blaze Boosters Friday night at the 2012 PBA Governors Cup at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum. Despite having arrived from Los Angeles, California just a few hours before the game, Hickerson, a 30-year-old Puerto Rican native, amazingly showed little sign of fatigue as he practically played a one-man demolition job in leading Barako Bull to their second win in four matches, snapping a two-game losing streak. The loss was the second for Petron Blaze in five games. Hickerson, a replacement for the Energy's lackluster import Jamine Peterson, made several huge plays as the game was winding down to seal the win for the Energy. First he rifled a pass to Ronald Tubid for a breakaway layup that allowed Barako Bull to grab the lead for the first time, 109-107, with 33.8 seconds left. He then blocked Eddie Basden's strong drive to the basket, setting up Willie Miller for two gift shots which he split. Hickerson, who first played in the PBA in 2010, then sealed the win for Barako Bull with a free throw with four-tenths of a second left. Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi was all praise for his new workhorse of an acquisition. “It's good LeRoy has played here before and he knows some of our players. He also knew some of the local players from Petron, so his adjustment wasn't difficult,” Baculi said. Hickerson came fresh from a stint with Bucaneros in the Venezuelan League where he averaged 18.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 25 games. In his first PBA stint, he averaged 32.8 points, 14.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists in six games for Air21 during the 2010 Fiesta Cup. The 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. Quarters: 30-34, 52-64, 84-91, 111-107. __
