MANILA: The Barangay Ginebra Kings overpowered the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados, 93-82, Sunday night to notch their second straight win and third overall against two losses in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. The Kings started the game with a 15-0 run and led by as many as 28 points, 67-39, early in the third quarter. Rudy Hatfield led the Kings with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Hatfield also starred in Ginebra's 93-74 rout of the Barako Bull Energy Boosters last Friday. In that game, Hatfield scored 12 points and a career second-best 22 rebounds. In the first game of the double-header, the Meralco Bolts snapped their three-game losing streak, jolting the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 87-79. Macmac Cardona once again topscored for the Bolts with a conference-high 27 points. Cardona also got ample support from Chris Ross and Gabby Espinas who actually were the ones who kept the Painters at bay in the fourth quarter with their timely baskets. Espinas collected eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, while Ross scored 12 markers and tallied three of his four assists in the same period. Asi Taulava, one of three PBA players included in the Philippine national team for the Asian Games next month, also asserted his might, collecting eight points and six rebounds while providing the muscle for the Bolts. The win raised Meralco's win-loss record to 2-3. The loss was a huge letdown for the Painters who only last Wednesday stunned tournament favorite Talk N Text Tropang Texters, 89-86. Rain or Shine thus suffered its third loss in five games. Sol Mercado led the Painters with 17 points and a career-high seven steals. Gabe Norwood had 15 while Doug Kramer again had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. There were 19 lead changes in the game which was not decided until the Bolts unleashed a 6-0 run in the payoff period. Meanwhile, the San Miguel Beermen outclassed the Powerade Tigers, 119-94, Saturday night in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, to secure their third win in four games. San Miguel thus joined the Alaska Aces and the Talk N Text Tropang Texters in a three-way logjam at the top of the standings, with the three teams all having a 3-1 card. The Tigers fell to 2-2. Gary David and RenRen Ritualo led the Tigers with 21 and 19 points each respectively.
