Games Today:
(Ynares Center, Antipolo City)
4:15 p.m. – Barako Bull vs. Air21
6:30 p.m. – Petron
vs. B-Meg

PETRON may be a winless team right now, but it doesn’t mean the Boosters are totally down.

In fact, B-Meg head coach Tim Cone feels that this may be the time that the 19-time champion is most dangerous.

“Coming off two losses, Petron will most likely be a beast,” said Cone. “We’ll have to meet their intensity early and sustain good play for 48 minutes, which is something we’re trying to get better at.”

The Llamados shoot for their third straight win in their battle against their sister team, eyeing to prolong their impressive start and keeping the Boosters stuck at the bottom of the standings in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

B-Meg won its first two games in the tournament by a combined five points only. It began its campaign with a 96-93 win over Meralco, and then held off Barako Bull (88-86), which sees action tonight against the debuting Air21 and its import, Marcus Douthit.

This is the first of two matches Cone said will be critical in their drive to make another run for the championship. After the Boosters, the Llamados get to square off with defending champion Talk ‘N Text on the 29th.

“We’ll be happy with a split in those two games,” Cone said. “This is a very short tournament, it’s a sprint, and I’m glad that we were able to win our first two games.”

Claiming a third win in a row would require a tremendous defensive effort as B-Meg will be dealing with a ball club that’s aching to bounce back from a lopsided 105-83 defeat to Meralco last Feb. 15.

It’s been a disturbing situation for the Boosters. They have an import who’s contributing well, but can’t seem to find the fire within them.

Particularly Arwind Santos.

The former Best Player of the Conference (2010-11 Governors’ Cup) was an abysmal sight against the Bolts. He only had two points, shot just 1-of-8 from the field, merely collared six rebounds and committed four turnovers in 31 minutes.

Santos puts the blame on his new role in the team. He now plays the No. 3 (small forward) spot, a position he abhors. He says in an interview that he’s comfortable playing the No. 4 (power forward) spot.

But Petron head coach Ato Agustin is forced to just that since this is an import-spiced tournament, and Fazekas has been producing monster games. Fazekas is averaging 35 points and 17.5 rebounds per outing.

Dropping a third straight game will put Petron in a very delicate position since it will only have six games left in the elimination round. Four teams will be eliminated after the preliminaries, which mean that every game counts.

Barako Bull likewise seeks to get back on the winning column when it clashes with Air21 in the opener at 4:15 p.m.

The Energy lost their previous game against B-Meg, failing to send the game into extra time when Willie Miller missed a point-blank bank shot.

That was a bitter defeat for Barako Bull, but is now heavily favoured to extend Air21’s losing woes despite having naturalized player Douthit in its line-up.

The Express gained the right to acquire Douthit when the former Gilas player expressed his desire to play as an import in the conference.