Legends show some sparkle in Return of Rivals

MANILA, Philippines — The legends were far from their old forms and were limited to flashes of old brilliance.

Allan Caidic had a lot of it in the fourth quarter where he tossed in 16 of his 26 points as San Miguel Beer outshone Alaska Milk, 96-83, in their side of the legends classic at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Terribly off in the first half, Caidic found his touch in the second half, going 6-of-10 from beyond the arc after misfiring all his first four attempts.

To cap his 26-point game, the 1990 PBA MVP knocked in back-to-back treys to make it 91-79 in the last two minutes of the game. He rested the last 1:27 of the game but there’s no denying him the Best Player of the Game award.

Danny Ildefonso (14 points and 14 rebounds) and Dondon Hontiveros (11 markers and 11 boards) collected double-double numbers, Denok Miranda contributed 17 points while Nic Belasco helped with 18 rebounds for the Beermen.

“Kahit na exhibition game, determinado ang mga players na manalo,” said SMB coach Pilo Pumaren.

Jayjay Helterbrand, active in the PBA until 2017, sizzled with a triple-double with 21 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds while Vince Hizon frolicked with four treys and a total of 19 markers as Ginebra repulsed Purefoods, 97-89, in the other game.

Marlou Aquino, Noli Locsin and Bal David, all active in legends tour around the country and even abroad, chipped in double-digit outputs for the Kings against the Hotdogs who were paced by Roger Yap with 27 markers.

The scores:

First Game

San Miguel 96 – Caidic 26, Miranda 17, Ildefonso 14, Hontiveros 11, Belasco 7, Alvarez 6, Racela 5, Agustin 4, Calaguio 3, Gamboa 2, Paras 1, Reyes 0, Asaytono 0, Teng 0, Abuda 0.

Alaska 83 – Miller 20, Abarrientos 11, Santos 9, Dela Cruz 8, Cariaso 7, Laure 6, Duremdes 5, Juinio 5, Lastimosa 4, Ferriols 4, Gomez 2, Hawkins 2, Sotto 0, Adornado 0.

Quarterscores: 20-21, 32-40, 62-59, 96-83

 Second Game

Ginebra 97 – Helterbrand 21, Hizon 19, Aquino 15, Locsin 14, David 12, Feihl 7, Palad 4, Jarencio 4, Jose 1, Isaac 0, Gayoso 0, Loyzaga 0, Cheng 0, Distrito 0, Ong 0, Mamaril 0.

Purefoods 89 – Yap 27, Artadi 14, Espinosa 14, Sta. Maria 7, Patrimonio 6, Codinera 6, Yee 5, Capacio 3, Marquez 3, Balingit 2, Solis 2, Ravena 0, Magsanoc 0, Pumaren 0, Naron 0.

Quarterscores: 16-17, 38-38, 77-66, 97-89