Petron gets big boost from Lutz to spoil Tim Cone’s B-Meg debut

The Petron Blaze Boosters countered the triangle-offense running B-Meg Derby Ace Llamdos with an offensive trinity of their own to post a pulsating 73-69 win last night at the Cuneta Astrodome.


Rookie Chris Lutz sizzled in his pro debut by firing 19 points and Alex Cabagnot scored the team's last seven points including a dagger three-pointer as the Blaze Boosters defeated the Llamados, 73-69, in the main game of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Astrodome.

Living up to his reputation as a clutch player, Cabagnot nailed a big three-pointer with two minutes and 25 seconds to go, giving the Boosters a 69-67 cushion to hold on for the win in the tightly-fought game pitting two sister teams.

The 26-year-old Lutz from Cal State at Fullerton, meanwhile, also played huge at the defensive end, alternately taking on B-MEG's top gunners Peter June Simon and James Yap.

Simon did finish with a game-high 21 points but James Yap was held to 10 markers.

The Llamados missed successive three-pointers in the stretch, including one by James Yap, the two-time league Most Valuable Player, in the final 27 seconds that spelled doom for Cone's coaching debut in a team favored to win the season-opening conference.


Cabagnot capped his heroics by canning four straight free throws, including two with 42 seconds left for a 73-67 count.

Arwind Santos added 11 for the Boosters, the reigning Governors Cup champion.

Kerby Raymundo scored 10 points in his return from active duty for the Llamados. His split from the foul line with four minutes left gave B-MEG its last taste of the lead, 67-66.

The Llamados led by as many as 22-13 in the first quarter but the Boosters came right back in the second and only trailed by two at the break, 38-36




“It felt good to be able to help my new team,” said Lutz outside the Petron dugout after the game. “It was nice to see my teammates have faith to put the ball in my hands in that situation. But it was a team effort this win. We got it done on both ends of the court.


Scores:
Petron 73—Lutz 19, Cabagnot 17, Santos 11, Miranda 8, Sharma 6, Ildefonso 5, Guevarra 3, Agustin 2, Yeo 2, Baclao 0, Hontiveros 0.

B-MEG 69—Simon 21, Yap J. 10, Raymundo 10, Devance 9, Yap R. 9, Ferriols 4, Barroca 2, Reavis 2, Maierhofer 1, Pingris 1, Urbiztondo 0.

Quarter scores: 13-22, 36-38, 58-54, 73-69, 73-69