Magnolia Beverage Masters Basketball Games Updates

OLSEN RACELA TURNS BACK TIME AS MAGNOLIA GETS PAYBACK VS. WELCOAT: 16-year veteran fires 13 of his season-high 20 in 4th to lead Beverage Masters

Olsen! Olsen! Olsen!

It's very nice to relive the glory days when our main point guard Olsen Racela orchestrates the plays for our team during those championship years in the early 2000's.

Olsen has been known as a great point guard and a deadly outside shooter as well. How he played tonight again revives the glory days of his playing career.

Read on and see how one of the oldest players in the league did the trick.

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Source: PBA.ph
Wednesday, 04 June 2008

Olsen Racela relived his role as Magnolia Beverage’s top playmaker Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

The 16-year veteran scored a personal season-high 20 points to lead Magnolia Beverage Masters to a 94-86 win opposite Welcoat Paints, solidifying their bid for an outright semifinal seat in the season-ending Smart-PBA Fiesta Conference.

Even with his new role as back-up guard to Mike Cortez (whom Magnolia Beverage Masters got via a trade with Alaska prior to the conference) and the arrival of rookie Jonas Villanueva, Racela, 37, proved that he can still contribute and orchestrate the Magnolia Beverage Masters’ offense.

“He (Racela) came out and played pretty well,” Magnolia Beverage Masters head coach Siot Tanquingcen said. “It shows na kaya pa nila ni Danny (Ildefonso). We’re trying to mix them with our young players, which is good for our team.”

Racela scored 13 points in the final frame, highlighted by a four-point play off a Donald Dulay foul with 10:04 left and a three-pointer that gave the Magnolia Beverage Masters a 85-75 lead with 5:18 to play.

The win avenged a 101-108 defeat last April 30 to the Dragons and improved the Magnolia Beverage Masters’ record to 7-6, while extending their victim’s losing skid to five for a 3-10 card.

Import Jameel Watkins came through with double-double of 17 points and 19 rebounds with five blocked shots.

Magnolia Beverage Masters played sans Danny Seigle (strained calf muscle) and Dondon Hontiveros (sprained left ankle) for the second straight basketball game.

“It’s good for us to win even without Danny and Dondon. Of course it’s big kung nandun sila. But it boosts the confidence of the other guys. Maski wala sila, that speaks well for the team,” he said.

A jumper and a three-pointer by rookie Joe Devance to start the fourth frame gave Welcoat a 67-66 lead, but Magnolia Beverage Masters answered with a 19-8 run capped by Racela’s trey, 85-75.

The closest the Dragons got was at 80-85 after a triple and two free throws by import Marquis Gainous, with 3:55 left to play, before Ildefonso and Villanueva made a jumper and a three-pointer, respectively, to make it 90-80, 2:09 to go.

Lordy Tugade, the hero in Magnolia Beverage Masters' 84-82 win against Talk ’N Text last Saturday in Puerto Princesa City, became the 13th player in the PBA history to have made a least 500 in a career.

The 6-foot-2 Tugade nailed two three-pointers in the first period, first at the 8:03 mark and second with 5:38 left in the quarter to achieve the milestone. He finished with 19 points.

He joined Allan Caidic, Ronnie Magsanoc, Al Solis, Robert Jaworski, Boybits Victoria, Jojo Lastimosa, Pido Jarencio, Noy Castillo, Kenneth Duremdes, Ren-Ren Ritualo, and teammates Olsen Racela and Hontiveros in the elite 500 triples club.

Import Corey Santee led Welcoat with 21 points, while sophomore Jay-R Reyes added 18. Devance had 17 and Gainous contributed 14 with 11 boards. (WG)

The scores:

Magnolia 94 – Racela 20, Tugade 19, Watkins 17, Ildefonso 10, Gonzales 9, Tolomia 7, Villanueva 5, Pena 4, Cortez 2, Pingris 1.

Welcoat 86 -- Santee 21, Reyes 18, Devance 17, Gainous 14, Arana 5, Mente 5, Wainwright 4, Ibanes 2, Dulay 0, Isip 0, Baguion 0.

Quarterscores: 17-20; 43-44; 64-62; 94-86.