Magnolia Beverage Masters Basketball Games Updates

RICE LIFTS PUREFOODS PAST MAGNOLIA BEVERAGE MASTERS AFTER 2 OTs: Giants’ import hits winning basket, erupts for 56 big points

It was a battle of scoring prowess between the two teams but the one with a better firepower escaped with a one point lead.

Monster import Darius Rice single-handly gave Purefoods the win. It was a heart-breaking loss for the Magnolia Beverage Masters where it battled tooth-for-tooth against the giants but end up losing with a point in the end. No need to worry as this is a good start already even if we loose.

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RICE LIFTS PUREFOODS PAST MAGNOLIA BEVERAGE MASTERS AFTER 2 OTs: Giants’ import hits winning basket, erupts for 56 big points

Source: PBA
Wednesday, 02 April 2008

NOT even the collective effort of Magnolia Beverage Masters proved enough to negate the individual explosiveness of Purefoods import Darius Rice.

The nephew of foottball legend Jerry Rice knocked in 56 big points in his Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) debut, including a coast-to-coast drive to the basket that lifted the Giants to a pulsating 127-126 double OT victory over the Magnolia Beverage Masters in a thrilling 2008 Smart Fiesta Conference gamme Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

The 6-foot-10 former University of Miami stalwart went 6-of-17 from three-point range, the last of which was a step-back trey in the final 1:40 of regulation play that tied the gamme at 101 and set the stage for the exciting finish.

The 56-point output of the 25-year-old Rice is the biggest individual score registered in a gamme in the league since former Best Import Derek Brown finished with 57 points for Sta. Lucia in a 99-120 losing cause to San Miguel Beer on April 25, 2004 in the inaugural Fiesta Conference.

“Darius Rice is as good as advertised,” were the first words uttered by a beaming Ryan Gregorio, the Purefoods coach, after the gamme that took 58 minutes to complete. “I’ve seen some amazing shots tonight, including a three-pointer that I think was a low percentage shot, but thank God, it went in.”

Rice already showed portent of things to come when he finished with 27 points at the half, though the Giants trailed, 45-54.

“That’s all?,” asked the sensational import when asked if he was aware of his final output, the second all-time highest output in the Fiesta Conference since Brown's 57 and the highest output by a debuting import since Jerod Ward had 61 for Mobiline in a 93-87 win over Barangay Ginebra in his first gamme in the 2001 Commissioner's Cup.

“Honestly, I was not thinking about my score. I’m just playing in there and trying to help the team win,” added the second cousin of former NBA hotshot Glenn Rice.

Following the win, Purefoods finds itself in a four-way tie on top with Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Air21 and reigning all-Filipino champion Sta. Lucia.

James Yap added 20 points for the Giants, Enrico Villanueva added 16 and 11 rebounds in his first gamme with his new team while Kerby Raymundo had 11 markers, but missed a potential game-winning reverse layup with four seconds left in the first overtime and the score tied at 116-116.

The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the Magnolia Beverage Masters, who led by as many as 14, 65-51, early in the third.

What cost Magnolia Beverage Masters the gamme, especially late in the overtime periods, were several turnovers, two of which Dondon Hontiveros committed in succession.

But the most damaging of them came in the final six seconds of the second extra period when Mike Cortez, acquired by Magnolia Beverage Masters in a blockbuster trade with Alaska, threw a weak pass which Rice anticipated. The Purefoods import then went all the way to the basket to peg the final count.

Hontiveros led the Magnolia Beverage Masters with 29 points while import Jameel Watkins contributed 23 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out with 1:22 in the second overtime. His putback off a Cortez miss in regulation sent the gamme into its first extension, 108-108.

Danny Seigle, unmindful of the Achilles injury he sustained in the conference break, added 19 and four other players were in double figures for Magnolia Beverage Masters, including Danny Ildefonso (10), who missed a potential game-tying basket at the buzzer that could have forged a third overtime. (GR)

BUZZER-BEATER: Rice's 56 was also the first 50-point output in the league since Asi Taulava had a career-high 51 in a 131-105 win over Purefoods on May 16, 2004 also during the inaugural Fiesta Conference... No player has scored at least 60 points in a gamme since Askia Jones had that exact output for Shell on Nov. 4, 2001 in a 111-88 rout of Sta. Lucia in the Governors Cup. (FM)

The scores:
Purefoods TJ Giants 127 – Rice 56, J Yap 20, Villanueva 16, Raymundo 11, Simon 10, Lanete 6, R. Yap 5, Salvador 2, Yee 1.

Magnolia Beverage Masters 126 – Hontiveros 29, Watkins 23, Seigle 19, Tugade 13, Pingris 12, Cortez 11, Ildefonso 10, Calaguio 5, Racela 2, Pena 2, Tolomia 0.

Quarterscores: 24-27; 45-54; 75-82; 108-108 (reg); 116-116 (1st OT); 127-126.

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It's a heart-breaking loss. MBM almost got the win if not for the costly turnovers in the extension period. It is very evident that it is caused by the lack of chemistry of the team (just for the second OT as this is the only portion that I have watched). Well, I think it is just fine as the newly acquired players have not yet fully jelled with the rest of the gang.

I am very confident that this current crop of players can produce better results than those in the All-FIlipino Cup. For all MBM fans, let's just be patient. It's good to know that we only lost by 1 point to a team that parades a monster of an import.

See you on Sunday. Ballgame is against All-Filipino Cup champion Sta. Lucia Realty. Ballgame updates will be available on that day. I expect you to check this website out for live gamme updates if you don't have TV access but wants to know what's happening on the gamme.