Kings spoil Llamados' celebration with a win

The Derby Ace Llamados received their championship rings just before the tip-off of their PBA Philippine Cup game against Barangay Ginebra Sunday night. It turned out the team chose the wrong time to celebrate its success in last year’s title run in this same All-Filipino meet. The Kings pounced on the Llamados’ poor start before coasting to an easy 93-82 win at the Araneta Coliseum. JJ Helterbrand scored five straight points, including a three-pointer, to spark a 15-0 run by the Kings in the first seven minutes of the contest. In a short period, the Gin Kings quickly turned an expected explosive showdown into an ugly rout. During that stretch, nothing seemed to go right for the defending champions as they went 0-of-8 from the field and committed five turnovers. Jondan Salvador finally broke the silence for the Llamados with a turnaround shot at the 5:08 mark, but by that time, the Kings already had everything under control. Winning its first back-to-back games this conference, Ginebra improved to 3-2 overall, just a game behind league leaders Alaska, Talk 'N Text and San Miguel, which all carry 3-1 win-loss records. Rudy Hatfield, who topscored for the Kings together with Ronald Tubid with 14 points each, vowed his team's continuous improvement as the tournament progresses. "We've been disappointing Ginebra fans of late, but I tell you, something special will come along the way," the ever energetic forward said. Hatfield also added 14 rebounds and held his own against the younger and vibrant Derby Ace sophomore forward Rico Maierhofer. The lanky 6-foot-6 former De La Salle stalwart had seven points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds. "He'll definitely get better as the years go by," said Hatfield of Maierhofer. The Kings ended the opening quarter on top, 28-11, before settling for a commanding 47-29 lead at the half. They eventually enjoyed a 29-point advantage, 64-35, midway in the third quarter following successive baskets by JC Intal. The final score was the closest the Llamados could get. Derby Ace got 14 points from PJ Simon and 12 from Roger Yap, but couldn’t sustain the momentum of the team’s breakthrough win the last time, a 75-71 squeaker over Meralco. The Llamados fell to the cellar with a 1-4 card. Two-time Most Valuable Player James Yap, playing without his protective mask for the first time this season, was held down to only eight points. - RCJ/KY, GMANews.TV