MANILA — The Petron Blaze Boosters showed they are better off without their Serbian team consultant Rajko Toroman as they handily defeated the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 110-98, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum Friday. With the intrusive Toroman given his walking papers by the Petron management a day earlier, head coach Olsen Racela was in full command to guide the Boosters to their third win in six games as they rose to solo fifth in the standings. Petron Blaze won despite continuing to miss the services of its two injured centers – June Mar Fajardo and Danny Ildefonso. Arwind Santos scored a season-high 29 points and 17 rebounds, while Chris Lutz and Jay Washington added 16 points apiece for the resurgent Boosters. Alex Cabagnot and Denok Miranda chipped in with 15 and 10 as the Boosters unleashed their much vaunted firepower. Rookie Vic Manuel led GlobalPort with 23 markers, while Willie Miller had 15 as the Batang Pier suffered their fifth loss in six games. In the first game of the Friday double-header, Calvin “The Beast” Abueva once again powered Alaska to victory as the Aces roared to their third straight win, downing the skidding Air21 Express, 92-81. In just his second game in the PBA, Abueva posted a double-double game of 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Aces tied the Meralco Bolts at third to fourth spot in the standings with their 3-2 win-loss card.
