The B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados led by 21 points early in the game but the Meralco Bolts never backed down and cut down the lead to three points in the 4th quarter but fell short as Derby Ace setup a semifinals matchup against Talk N Text Tropang Texters.

Peter June Simon again led B-Meg with 23 points but only 7 in the 2nd half, while James Yap contributed 17 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Nino “KG” Canaleta scored 16 points (4 out of 6 from three point range) in only 13 minutes of play.

The Llamados have beaten Meralco 4 times this conference. The semifinals will start on Sunday, December 26, 2010 at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.

Game scores:

Derby Ace 92 – Simon 23, Yap J. 17, Canaleta 16, Villanueva 10, Gaco 8, Pingris 7, Allado 6,
Yap R. 4, Maierhofer 1, Salvador 0, Adducul 0.

Meralco 88 – Cardona 26, Ross 20, Espinas 12, Juntilla 10, Isip 10, Weinstein 3, Menor 2, Aljamal
2, Omolon 2, Thiele 1, Belga 0, Taulava 0.

The B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados will try to end their best-of-three series tonight against the Meralco Bolts and force a semifinals matchup against Talk N Text Tropang Texters. Derby Ace defeated Meralco in game 1, 106-97 in a thrilling double overtime game. Game time will be at 7:30pm at the Big Dome.

Peter June Simon and James Yap must work together to offset the size of the Bolts and they also must get steady play from guards Roger Yap and Jonas Villanueva.

James Yap and the Derby Ace Llamados tries to stay alive in the Quarterfinals series vs Rain or Shine. The Painters lead the best-of-five series, 2-1 and can close the series tonight but Derby Ace will try to force Game 5 this Sunday. Derby Ace replaces Import Clif Brown with Tony Washam . Although chemistry might be an issue with a new Import, the way the locals have been playing specially defensively since last conference will be a major factor in this game.

Marc Pingris (thigh injury) and Kerby Raymundo (knee injury) who were sidelined with an injury the last game are committed to play but is still a question mark on Game 4.

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

Sol Mercado (16pts, 9rebs, 15asts) of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters takes over in OT by scoring 9 points and beats Derby Ace Llamados, 117-111 and is one win away from the semifinals matchup vs San Miguel Beermen. Derby Ace had a chance to win in regulation with 5sec left in the game but wasted the opportunity to lead this series. James Yap had a season high 34 pts along with 4rebs and 4asts, made clutch baskets in the 4th quarter, but still came up short missing a couple of three point shots in overtime.

Derby Ace was down in the 1st half with Rain or Shine having its biggest lead with 18points, but Derby Ace came back strong starting the 3rd quarter with an 18-0 blast and it was a very close game in the 4th quarter with a couple of players making big baskets down the stretch including Nino Canaleta (17pts , 6rebs) and Don Allado (10pts, 4rebs) of Derby Ace and Jervy Cruz (16pts, 8rebs) of Rain or Shine.

Derby Ace Import Clif Brown, who might have played his last game in the PBA contributed 31 pts, 23rebs (11 offensive) and 5asts. Game 4 will be on Friday, July 16 at the Cuneta Astrodome at 7:30pm.

Other notes from the game:
- Marc Pingris and Kerby Raymundo did not play due to injuries.
- Roger Yap – 5pts, 10asts, 4rebs, 1stl, 1blk
- Rafi Reavis – 5pts, 11rebs, 2asts, 1blk
- Derby Ace was only 21 of 32 from the Free Throw line

Game scores:

Rain or Shine 117 – Nealy 32, Chan 22, Cruz 16, Mercado 16, Norwood 14, Arana 6, Laure 5, Ibanes 4, Reyes 2, Tang 0, Salangsang 0, Hrabak 0.

Derby Ace 111 – Yap J. 34, Brown 31, Canaleta 17, Allado 10, Artadi 6, Reavis 5, Yap R. 5, Simon 2, Maierhofer 1, Timberlake 0, Salvador 0, Adducul 0.

Sol Mercado (19pts, 6rebs, 7asts, 2stls) leads Rain or Shine to a win versus Derby Ace to tie their Best-of-5 Quarterfinals series 1-1. James Yap top scored for Derby Ace with 20pts followed by Rookie Rico Maierhofer with 13pts and 10rebs, but aside from Maierhofer bench scoring was non-existent for the Llamados with Peter June Simon who was the hero last game contributing only 2pts and Nino Canaleta 3pts and had one of his worst shooting nights (1 of 7 from 3-point range and 0 of 4 from 2-point range).

Derby Ace Import Clif Brown who played only limited minutes in Game 1 due to cramps, played 39 minutes in Game 2 but could only contribute 11pts and 12rebs. Crucial Game 3 will be at the Araneta Coliseum this Wednesday, July 14 at 5pm.

Game Scores:

Rain or Shine 79 – Mercado 19, Nealy 17, Norwood 13, Laure 9, Reyes 7, Arana 5, Cruz 4, Chan 3, Ibanes 2, Tang 0, Hrabak 0.

Derby Ace 69 - Yap J. 20, Maierhofer 13, Brown 11, Pingris 6, Yap R. 5, Reavis 4, Allado 4, Canaleta 3, Simon 2, Raymundo 1, Artadi 0. Quarters: 25-21, 47-39, 63-61, 79-69

James Yap and Peter June Simon led Derby Ace to a win vs Rain or Shine in the 1st Game of their Best-of-5 Quarterfinals series, 108-102. Former MVP James Yap scored 31 points and contributed 4rebs and 4 asts but it was the scoring of PJ Simon (14pts and 4rebs) in the 4th quarter that gave Derby Ace the win including a big 3-point shot with a few seconds remaining in the game to seal the win.

Derby Ace Import Clif Brown was used sparingly in the second half due to cramps but still contributed 17pts, 10rebs and 5asts as Derby Ace played All-Filipino for most of the second half. Kerby Raymundo made his first appearance this conference contributing 4pts, 7rebs and 2asts and Marc Pingris playing with an injury guarded Rain or Shine Import Rod Nealy for most of the game.

Special mention goes to Roger Yap who contributed 16pts, 4rebs, 5asts and 2 stls and just like last conference has stepped up his game in the quarterfinals.

James Yap had 28 points and was 6 out of 11 from 3-point range but could not lead Derby Ace to a crucial playoff game vs San Miguel. Derby Ace Import Clif Brown who played well in the past few games was a non-factor in this game scoring only 9pts and 10rebs and could not limit San Miguel Import Gabe Freeman who scored 20 points.

Special Mention goes to Nino Canaleta who had a solid performance with 16pts,7rebs and Rafi Reavis with 10pts, 8rebs, 2blks.

San Miguel now enters the semifinals automatically with Talk N Text while Derby Ace will face the winner of the wild card phase in the best of 5 quarterfinals series. In the other game, Ginebra routs Rain or Shine and enters the quarterfinals and the Elasto Painters moves down to the Wild Card Phase with Coca Cola, Sta Lucia and Air 21.

Game scores:

San Miguel 88 – Hontiveros 21, Freeman 20, Washington 19, Cabagnot 14, Santos 6, Seigle 5, Yeo 3, Villanueva 0, Miranda 0, Racela 0, Ildefonso 0, Pena 0.

B-Meg Derby Ace 83 – Yap J. 28, Canaleta 16, Reavis 10, Brown 9, Maierhofer 6, Yap R. 6, Pingris 4, Simon 2, Allado 2, Artadi 0.

Quarters: 23-13, 42-31, 61-58, 88-83

Purefoods TJ Giants wins Game 2 of their best of 5 Quarterfinals series with Rain or Shine and leads the series 2-0 after a big comeback – coming down from a 20 point deficit in the third quarter. James Yap came away with 2 clutch free throw in the final seconds of the game to seal the win for the Giants, but it was Roger Yap who orchestrated their comeback scoring 20 of his 22 points in the second half.

Rain or Shine controlled the first half, with Sol Mercado coming back from a subpar performance in their first game, he scored 26 points in game 2 but could not lead Rain or Shine to a win vs. Purefoods.

In the other Quarterfinals series between Barangay Ginebra vs. Talk N Text, the tropang Texters also takes a 2-0 lead over Ginebra.

Game scores:

Purefoods 95 – Yap J. 23, Yap R. 22, Maierhofer 14, Raymundo 11, Artadi 10, Canaleta 9, Reavis 6, Timberlake 0, Pingris 0, Alaldo 0.

Rain or Shine 94 – Mercado 26, Norwood 22, Chan 19, Hrabak 12, Reyes 7, Arana 5, Laure 3, Arellano 0, Ibanes 0, Telan 0.

Quarterscores: 17-26; 41-52; 71-76; 95-94