ALLAN THE MAN

The Petron Blaze Boosters rained down three-pointers on Rain or Shine for a blistering 110-89 victory on Monday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum to make their return to the finals of the PBA Governors’ Cup.

“We’re living the dream,” said Petron coach Gee Abanilla. “This is a very good opportunity for us.”

Elijah Millsap broke out of his two-game slump to score 34 points, Marcio Lassiter added 27, while Alex Cabagnot had 23 for Petron, which wrapped up the semifinals series, 3-1.

Petron sizzled from beyond the arc, making 14-of-27 three-pointers for a 51.9 percent clip.

NBA. Check out the Miami Heat's big man showcase his footwork with a couple of spin moves into the paint! Bosh scores 21, Heat def Hawks 92-87.

TWO league governors were quick to play down a reported spat at the sidelines of the heated match between San Mig Coffee and Meralco in the PBA Governors Cup semifinals on Sunday night.

Witnesses said Meralco board representative Ramon Segismundo and San Mig governor Rene Pardo exchanged angry gestures during one controversial play just before halftime in the Mixers' 79-73 victory in Game Four.

Segismundo, who is the incoming league chairman, admitted he made gestures towards the San Mig bench but said it was not directed at any member of the team but at a referee which Pardo and Mixers coach Tim Cone were talking to at that time.

DESPITE the lack of relatively better-quality opponents, the Philippine Football Federation still expects tough competition for the national team when it defends its Peace Cup title from October 11 to 15 at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

After higher-ranked African squads Uganda (81st in the world) and Rwanda (131st) declined the PFF invitation due to varying reasons, the football body was forced to tap Pakistan and make do with a three-team cast along with the Azkals and Chinese Taipei.

NBA. Dwight Howard made his Houston Rockets debut against the New Orleans Pelicans, and had an impressive 19 points and 9 rebounds. New Orleans Pelicans beat Houston 116-115.

THE SCORES:

San Mig Coffee 79 - Blakely 23, Yap 19, Pingris 16, Barroca 7, Mallari 4, Devance 4, Acuna 3, Simon 3, Reavis 0.

Meralco 73 - West 22, Cardona 13, Hugnatan 13, Ross 9, Dillinger 6, Salvacion 6, Cortez 4, Hodge 0, Wilson 0, 

QUARTERS: 27-16, 45-38, 66-56, 79-73

Miguel Cotto is back, or at least that's going to be the hype coming out of tonight's win over Delvin Rodriguez. Recalling the young Cotto of old, the Puerto Rican iceman with the ferocious body attack who made for a scary opponent, Cotto ripped through Rodriguez tonight in just over two rounds, scoring a TKO-3 victory and looking sharp and sensational in the process.

Cotto (38-4, 31 KO) had a pep in his step that hasn't been seen for a while now, and it appears that owes to the new professional relationship with trainer Freddie Roach. Roach, as someone said in the live thread, has his flaws like all trainers do. But when it comes to maximizing a fighter's offensive ability, Roach may have no peer. He said he wanted to see the old Miguel Cotto back, throwing vicious left hooks to the body and wearing out his opponents. He brought that monster back out of the 32-year-old veteran tonight in Orlando.