Danny I's night to cherish

By JONAS TERRADO MB.COM.PH - MANILA, Philippines — No one gave them a chance. All the pundits said it’s going to be a sweep.

Even the broadcasters were already expressing their eulogies for the impending demise of the Petron Boosters with still five minutes to go, saying they were tired and lacked a strong second unit.

But in a championship series, don’t count out a team until the final basket is thrown.

That was the case with Petron Sunday night.

The Boosters were practically given up for lost that even the crowd shied away from the opener with the SMART Araneta Coliseum nearly half empty in contrast with the UAAP game between Ateneo and FEU just hours earlier which rocked and rolled with spectators estimated to be tripled that of the PBA game.

But with Petron’s surprising 89-88 win, the PBA may have found the key it needed to bring in the fans.

If Petron’s performance will be a gauge, the final has suddenly blossomed into possibly a watchable and exciting series.

As expected, Petron Blaze coach Ato Agustin brushed aside talks that they have become the favorites.

Not at all, he said, we’re still the underdogs.

Agustin has always loved playing the underdog card.

"Halos lahat tingin nila na 4-0 nila kami pero ngayon 1-0 na kami," said Agustin. "Siguro gagawin na yan 4-1 na lang at ganun naman sasabihin nila e pinagbigyan kami. I hope they'll continue saying na pinagbibigyan kami."

Still, it isn’t too remote to also believe that Agustin hopes their 89-88 win – courtesy of Danny Ildefonso’s buzzer-beating basket – would be the catalyst they need to change the complexion of the series.

Another win Wednesday, he said, and the finals will show a totally different picture. But he believes that it would take another extraordinary effort to beat the Texters for the second straight time in the Finals.

The win shocked most fans, the self-styled experts included.

With TNT’s superior and deeper line-up – experts had said the series would be a walk in the park for the Texters.

The surprise win, engineered by a Hail Mary shot from veteran Danny Ildefonso just before time expired, capped a furious Petron rally from 16 points down in the second quarter.

The Boosters were still trailing by seven points in the last four minutes until Ildefonso made the first of his late-game heroics by stealing the ball from Larry Fonacier to give the Boosters the lead, 87-86.

And when Jimmy Alapag fed Ryan Reyes to regain the lead for TNT, 88-87, 10.1 seconds left, Ildefonso completed the shocker with a baseline jumper that hit nothing but net.

Though it was already late at night – the game started 30 minutes late or more – the crowd rose to its feet to pay tribute to one of the biggest stars of the league.

Ildefonso finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a performance that proved that he’s not yet over the hill.