Simon's 42-point burst deflates Air21

MANILA, Philippines - Peter June Simon sparkled with a season-high 42 points as B-MEG Derby Ace shrugged off a listless start and upended Air21, 102-97, to move out of the cellar in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Simon went 11-of-11 from the two-point zone and 2-of-4 from the three-point area while hitting 14-of-18 from the stripe in the most explosive performance in his six-year career, leading the Llamados to their first back-to-back wins for a 3-5 win-loss record.

Two-time MVP winner James Yap added 16 points, Rico Maierhofer contributed 15 rebounds and nine points while Roger Yap chipped in 10 assists, nine points, six rebounds and four steals as Derby Ace avenged its 69-77 loss to Air21 in their previous game in Naga City last Oct. 16.

The win was a follow-up to Derby Ace’s 104-97 upset of the Talk n Text last Friday, enabling them to break free from a tie with the Barako Bull Energy Boosters in the bottom of the standings and into joint sixth with the Express and the loser in the Alaska-Powerade game later in the night.

“We actually started bad. We’ve been that way in our last four games. Good thing, we picked up our game in the second half,” said Derby Ace coach Jorge Gallent.

“We’re kind of like a diesel (engine), taking some time to really get going. The problem with that is if we fail to heat up and recover in the second half,” Gallent said.

It was a decisive victory carrying Derby Ace all the way to joint sixth place with Air21, Meralco Bolts and Powerade.

Alaska Milk ended a four-game slump with a 96-67 rout of Powerade in the nightcap.

“I think we’ve overcome mental fatigue. In the last few games, we’re playing three good quarters then would go off mentally. We sustained a good game all throughout tonight. We continued to battle even as we had a big lead,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

Wesley Gonzales scored all of his 12 points in the first half with Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Wynne Arboleda adding seven each as the Express took control in the early going, enjoying a 13-point spread before the half.

But Simon and Yap sparked a key Derby Ace run towards the end of the first half with the former sustaining his hot game all the way to the finish as the Llamados outlasted the Express in a tough match marked by nine deadlocks and 10 lead changes.

Playing extended minutes on the absence of KG Canaleta, Simon pounced on the opportunity, delivering his biggest output since firing 32 points in a game four years ago.

Simon also surpassed the previous season high of 31 made by Powerade’s Gary David.

“Simon has really been playing well this conference. He’s a huge help as we’re playing with only 11 men in the tourney (minus Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris and Rafi Reavis),” said Gallent.

The rookie coach said it’s his decision not to play Canaleta amidst report the 6-foot-4 forward was facing a personal problem.

“KG has been struggling. He’s not used to the position he’s playing now. He has to do more while we miss several key players,” said Gallent.