James Yap was held to only 7pts but made crucial baskets in the 4th quarter but the other locals stepped up specially Marc Pingris with 17pts, 10rebs (7offensive), 4asts, 1blk and 1stl and also Rafi Reavis with 16pts, 13rebs (6 offensive) and 2blks.

Although San Miguel still led in rebounding in this game 50-48 (Gabe Freeman with 25rebs), the Llamados had big defensive stops and rebounds in the 4th quarter as they showed that they still have the heart and fighting spirit in this series after being down 3-1. Game 6 will be this Sunday, August 1, 6:30pm at the Araneta Coliseum.

One game at a time, let us give our all out support this Sunday.

Game Scores:

Derby Ace 88 – Washam 28,Pingris 17, Reavis 16, Artadi 10, Yap J. 7, Simon 5, Yap R. 3, Canaleta 2, Maierhofer 0, Adducul 0, Allado 0.

San Miguel Beer 82 – Freeman 18, Yeo 14, Santos 14, Washington 14, Hontiveros 7, Racela 5, Villanueva 4, Cabagnot 4, Ildefonso 2, Tugade 0, Pena 0.

Quarterscores: 23-18, 44-43, 64-64, 88-82

Purefoods has comeback from a 0-2 and 3-1 series deficit in the past and is only 1 of 2 teams to win 3 straight wins after being down 3-1 (against Alaska in 2006). Will history repeat itself? Derby Ace will try to take it one game at a time and try to stop Powerhouse San Miguel in Game 5 Today at the Araneta Coliseum.

In order for the Llamados to win, they must match the energy and intensity of the Beermen specially Gabe Freeman who has been killing them with his rebounding. The locals specially Derby Ace bench must show up tonight to keep fresh legs on the floor specially Paul Artadi, Nino Canaleta, Peter June Simon and Rico Maierhofer.

But the key in Game 5 is rebounding (this is where we are missing the services of Kerby Raymundo and Marc Pingris, who is playing with an injury) and of course the play of Derby Ace Import Tony Washam is critical, Washam played poorly in the 3 games that Derby Ace lost to San Miguel, we hope his championship experience in other leagues will show tonight.

Go B-meg Derby Ace Llamados!

San Miguel outrebounded Derby Ace 61-45 as they take a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven semifinals series and try to close out on Game 5 this Friday, 5pm at the Araneta Coliseum. James Yap led Derby Ace with 18pts but it was another subpar performance for Derby Ace Import Tony Washam who only scored 12pts on 2 out of 19 from the field.

Although the Beermen now needs just one win in 3 tries, the Llamados must take it one game at a time and keep up with the energy of the Beermen. The other locals actually played well, like Roger Yap who had 15pts, 5rebs and 7asts, Marc Pingris with 8pts and 9rebs and Rico Maierhofer with 6pts, 7rebs and 3asts but we need more production from Washam in scoring and specially in rebounding (Gabe Freeman had 24 rebounds in this game).

Let us give our all out support in Game 5 and take it one game at a time, last conference we won 3 straight games vs San Miguel and we must believe it is still possible this conference.

Game Scores:

San Miguel 83 – Freeman 22, Santos 12, Hontiveros 12, Washington 11, Yeo 7, Cabagnot 7, Ildefonso 7, Racela 3, Vilanueva 2, Pena 0.

Derby Ace 75 – Yap J 18, yap R 15, Washam 12, Pingris 8, Maierhofer 6, Simon 6, Reavis 4, Canaleta 3, Artadi 2, Allado 1.

With both Alaska and San Miguel holding a 2-1 lead in their respective best-of-seven semifinals series, Derby Ace and Talk N Text hopes to even their series and not fall into a 3-1 deficit which is difficult to come back specially against tough opponents like the Aces and the Beermen.

The Llamados hopes to have a similar game on the 1st half of Game 3 where they controlled both ends of the floor, but must be consistent in all quarters so that they will not let San Miguel come back again at the end of the game. Last conference, Derby Ace (Purefoods TJ Giants) also had a 2-1 deficit in the semifinals and eventually won three straight games against San Miguel to enter the finals and sweep the Alaska Aces. We hope it is the same case this conference.

Let us give our all out support to our team the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados!

Chris Timberlake having quality minutes as PG

Gabe Freeman Dunk

Jondan Salvador sandwiched

Don Allado scoring inside and out in Game 3

More pictures at the Derby Ace vs San Miguel Semifinals Gallery

A big lead in the 1st half, a see saw battle in the final 2 quarters and a thrilling finish, just like in Game 2, but this time around it was San Miguel who played catch-up as Derby Ace erected a 17-point lead in the 2nd quarter which the Beermen cut to 12 at the half. And it was a very close game in the 4th quarter as the two teams exchanged baskets and finally Arwind Santos knocking a big three point shot with the score tied at 70-all to give San Miguel a 2-1 edge in their best-of-seven semifinals series.

In Game 2, it was San Miguel who had a big lead and Derby Ace made a run in the final quarter to tie the series. The Llamados only scored 25pts in the 2nd half as the defense of San Miguel kicked in, Tony Washam led Derby Ace with 22pts, 13rebs, 4asts and 3stls but was only 1 out of 8 from three point range. For the locals, only James Yap (17pts) and Don Allado (10pts) who scored in double digits.

A highlight of the game was a block by Olsen Racela on a buzzer beating three point shot by Nino “KG” Canaleta at the end of the 3rd quarter which pumped up the beermen and tightened their defense more in the last quarter where Derby Ace shot very poorly. The locals specially the bench players must step up in Game 4 (Wednesday, 7:30pm at Cuneta Astrodome) in order for Derby Ace to have a chance in this series.

Game scores:

San Miguel 74 – Hontiveros 17, Freeman 14, Washington 12, Santosd 8, Pena 6, Villanueva 5, Yeo 5, Cabagnot 5, Seigle 2, Racela 0, Ildefonso 0.

Derby Ace 70 – Washam 22, Yap J. 17, Allado 10, Timberlake 5, Artadi 5, Pingris 4, Canaleta 3, Maierhofer 2, Salvador 0, Yap R. 0.

Quarterscores: 14-24; 33-45; 57-58; 74-70

Derby Ace Import Tony Washam made a 3-point play with 7.9 seconds left in the game to give Derby Ace the lead 95-94 and also made a crucial steal to seal the win for the Llamados to tie their best-of-seven series vs San Miguel at 1-1. Washam was named Best player of the game with 33pts, 7rebs, 1ast and 4stls.

San Miguel led most of the game with their biggest lead at 18points, 45-27 in the 2nd quarter, but B-Meg made a couple of runs at the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters to inch closer to San Miguel. James Yap led all locals with 19pts (11/13 FT) but struggled from the field, only 1 of 6 from three-point range and 2 of 7 from two-point range.

Don Allado had a great game specially in the 1st half scoring 15pts but fouled out early in the game. It’s back to square one for these two teams as they face each other again this Sunday at 4pm for Game 3.

Game Scores

Derby Ace (95) - Washam 33, Yap J. 18, Allado 15, Yap R. 9, Pingris 6, Reavis 5, Timberlake 2, Salvador 2, Artadi 2, Simon 2, Maierhofer 1, Canaleta 0.

San Miguel Beer (94) - Santos 19, Freeman 18, Washington 13, Hontiveros 9, Ildefonso 9, Villanueva 8, Cabagnot 8, Yeo 7, Seigle 3, Pena 0.

Quarterscores: 18-30, 45-57, 74-79, 95-94

Derby Ace hopes to bounce back from their disappointing loss in Game 1 to San Miguel, it is a must win for the Llamados because it will be difficult to climb back from a 2-0 deficit specially against a formidable team like San Miguel. Derby Ace Import Tony Washam must make adjustments on his offense where he was limited to only 23pts on 6 out of 18 from the field. The other Derby Ace players must step up, where we can see in Game 1 that they lacked energy maybe because of the long and tiring series against Rain or Shine. San Miguel also had a couple of fast break dunks in Game 1 and which Derby Ace needs adjust and tighten their defense in Game 2.

In the other semifinals matchup, Powerhouse Talk N Text also hopes to bounce back from a humiliating loss to Alaska, 104-88.

Go B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados!

Tony Washam was guarded well by SMB

Marc Pingris blocks Danny I

Only a few highlights for Derby Ace including a Slam by Rico Maierhofer

More pictures at the Derby Ace vs San Miguel Semifinals Gallery

* photos by gmtan

After scoring 49 points in Game 5 vs Rain or Shine, Tony Washam was held to only 23pts, James Yap top scored for Derby Ace with 24pts and only reserve Peter June Simon as the other Llamados in double figures with 12.

But just like last conference where the Purefoods TJ Giants was beaten badly in Game 1, they got back in Game 2 and eventually won the series, we hope that Coach Ryan Gregorio will make the adjustments in Game 2 and this will also be a test for Derby Ace Import Tony Washam who also has to make offensive adjustments from different Beermen defending him.

Game scores:

San Miguel 101 – Washington 28, Freeman 23, Santos 15, Hontiveros 15, Villanueva 8, Pena 4, Racela 3, Cabagnot 2, Seigle 2, Miranda 1, Yeo 0, Ildefonso 0, Pennisi 0.

Derby Ace 88 – J. Yap 24, Washam 23, Simon 12, Artadi 7, Timberlake 6, Maierhofer 6, Pingris 4, Adducul 2, Reavis 2, R. Yap 2, Canaleta 0, Allado 0.