Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — No second-half collapse this time around for the Petron Blaze Boosters. The Boosters started hot and kept their fire burning throughout the game to scorch the defending champion San Mig Coffee Mixers, 98-73, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, nailing their first PBA 2013 Commissioner's Cup victory. The win was a much-needed morale booster for Petron which suffered a heart-breaking 92-94 loss to the GlobalPort Batang Pier last Friday in a game where it led by as much as 18 points in the first half. Led by their energetic import Renaldo Balkman, the Boosters broke open the game in the second quarter where they made a 28-8 run to finish the half with a 48-22 bulge. Balkman finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks, as he dominated his San Mig Coffee counterpart Matt Rogers who made his PBA debut after missing his team's first game due to food poisoning. Jay Washington and Alex Cabagnot provided additional firepower, chipping in with 17 and 15 points, respectively. The Boosters made mincemeat of the Mixers' defense to hand the defending champs their second straight defeat. James Yap led the Mixers with 25 points. Rogers struggled with just 7-of-19 (37 percent) from the field for a 20-point output. He also had nine rebounds. Petron rookie head coach Olsen Racela credited his team's sharper defense and the superb performance of Balkman for their first victory. In the curtain-raiser of the Wednesday double-header, the Alaska Aces walloped the Meralco Bolts, 85-81, to grab a share of the lead with a 2-0 record, tying idle Barako Bull. Alaska import Robert Dozier led his team with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks as he outplayed his Meralco counterpart Eric Dawson. After scoring 37 points in his debut against Talk N Text last Saturday, Dawson was limited by the stingy Alaska defense to just 15 points on a miserable 5-of-16 shooting (31 percent). Super rookie Calvin Abueva added 20 points and eight rebounds for Alaska, while Cyrus Baguio added 16 markers.
