Coleman, Hotdogs send Kings to their knees

PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan — Already a week in the country, Lorenzo Coleman showed improvement from his so-so-debut with Purefoods Wednesday, making his presence felt as the Hotdogs whipped the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 91-85, in a Gran Matador PBA road showcase at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum here last night.

Coleman scored a team-high 21 points although it’s the duo of national hopefuls Kerby Raymundo and James Yap who delivered the clutch baskets as the Hotdogs scored the crucial win to break off a three-way logjam at seventh and into another big group at fourth place with a 6-7 win-loss card.

Making it two in a row on the road following similar close win over Shell in Balanga, Bataan last April 28, Purefoods strode back in the middle of the pack, tying Red Bull Barako, Sta. Lucia and Shell from fourth to seventh places.

Ginebra slid to the cellar in a tie with Coca-Cola at 5-8 as it suffered a sixth straight defeat — two in a row with new import Andre Brown.

The Kings scored the game’s first five points but couldn’t sustain the momentum of the good start, yielding a 16-24 lead to the Hotdogs at the end of the first period.

After a long, lonely chase, the Kings regained the upperhand at 77-76 but not the full control of the game.

Undaunted by the Ginebra comeback, Raymundo and Yap came up with big plays down the stretch as the Hotdogs bounced back from a 95-86 loss to the Coke Tigers during Coleman’s debut Wednesday.

Coleman, a 7-foot-1 giant from Tennessee Tech, huffed and puffed his way to 14 points in that game.

Raymundo led the Purefoods locals with 14 points, including back-to-back baskets that had the Hotdogs shattering an 83-all deadlock entering the final minute of the game.

After Ginebra pulled within 85-87 on a drive by Brown, Yap put the outcome beyond reach on two charities with just 15 seconds left in the clock.

The Hotdogs took control most of the way with Eric Menk struggling on the court for Ginebra.

Strangely, Menk didn’t get into the scoring column until he scored on a short stab, 34 minutes into the game. He finished with only seven points.

Worse was Jun Limpot who tossed in only two points — probably affected by his near fight with Migs Noble early in the second period.