Hinson rallies Llamados to victory in Dubai

DUBAI -- Darnel Hinson picked up his game when B-Meg needed someone to
provide a spark, rallying the Llamados to a 111-105 victory against
Talk N Text after a poor start on Thursday in the PBA Governors’ Cup
at the Al Shabab Sports Club here.

Hinson struggled on 9 of 25 shooting in his debut with B-Meg but his
successive 3s in the third quarter opened the floodgates for 21 -1
onslaught that turned the tide for the Llamados, who trailed TNT by 11
in the first half as they struggled to get their rhythm.

“We played bad particularly in the first quarter partly because we
couldn’t run our play the way we're supposed to and the guys sort of
lost their poise. But the good thing is, we picked our game when we
have to,” offered B-Meg coach Jorge Gallent, who was impressed with
his new import.

“He played well. I’m sure Darnell will still get better once he has
settled down with the team. His exactly the right fit for us,” Gallent
declared.

Hinson eventually finished with 26 points and had 12 rebounds to lead
two other Llamados with double-double performances.

The win was the second straight for the Llamados, who improved to 3-2
(win-loss) record.

James Yap led all scorers with 32 points on 12 of 21 shooting. Mark
Pingris scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds while Joe Devance
accounted for 16 points and 17 rebounds as B-Meg crushed TNT off the
boards, 68-52.

Jason Castro scored 24 points for TNT. Ranidel de Ocampo, Harvey Carey
and Maurice Baker each scored 20 points but all of them disappeared in
the second half when the Llamados made a run.

The Tropang Texters lost their momentum in the second half largely
because they lost their defensive instinct and allowed themselves to
be pushed around in the lane.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak by the grand slam seeking
TNT, who will attempt to bounce back from that jolting defeat against
Barangay Ginebra on Friday. The game is set at 6 p.m. (10 p.m. Manila
time) also at the Al Shabab Sports Club.

TNT managed to pull within 89-91 on a 3-pointer by Baker with 7:30 to
play. But B-Meg quickly responded with a 12-3 spurt with Devance and
James Yap ending the run with successive 3-pointers.

The Tropang Texters never threatened again after that.


TNT took the first half, 56-53, because B-Meg committed 15 turnovers –
mostly on errant passes – that netted the Tropang Texter 15 points in
that span. The Llamados finished 25 errors, 10 more than TNT.


The scores:

B-Meg 111—J. Yap 32, Hinson 26; Pingris 17, Devance 16, Simon 9,
Allado 4, R. Yap 3, Reavis 2, Villanueva 2, Gaco 0, Fernandez 0.

Talk N’ Text 105 – Castro 24, Baker 20, De Ocampo 20, Carey 20,
Williams 10, Alvarez 4, Fonacier 3, Alapag 2, Aban 2, Peek 0, Lao 0,
Oreta 0.

Quarters: 21-29; 53-56; 82-74; 111-105.(pr)