By Josiah Israel Albelda

As the truth of a 0-14 finish dawned on the Shopinas.com Clickers, Coach Franz Pumaren could only shake his head in disgust.

The Clickers got waylaid early then had a hard time catching up with the B-Meg Llamados, who cruised to an 86-74 victory at the close of the elimination round for both clubs in the PBA Philippine Cup Thursday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Needing a win to avoid setting the worst start by a team in league history, Shopinas.com came out flat in the opening quarter, falling prey to a vicious 16-2 blitz that they would never recover from.

“We wanted to make a statement early,” B-Meg coach Tim Cone said after the game. “We played a good first quarter and that was our target.”

The Clickers launched mini-runs all throughout the game but couldn’t get closer than 11 points — when the outcome wasn’t in question anymore — in absorbing their 14th straight defeat and handing the Llamados their eighth consecutive win.

Down 36-59 in the third, Elmer Espiritu and Pong Escobal spearheaded a 14-3 blast that trimmed the deficit to 50-62 after a basket by Espiritu.

B-Meg, however, would not be denied as Peter June Simon doused any rally Shopinas.com could muster in the fourth to pass Great Taste for the worst conference-opening losing streak in PBA annals.

“It was a tough conference for them,” Cone said of the Clickers. “It was wearing and tough, but he kept his guys playing all the time. It will build character for them all the way down the line.”

For Pumaren, the multi-titled coach who steered De La Salle to four straight UAAP crowns in his heyday, it’s all about wanting to win, desire and pride.

James Sena was again the best Shopinas.com cager of the night with 20 points and 13 boards while Espiritu, picked fourth overall by Alaska when Cone was still coaching the Aces, hustled his way to 16 points and five rebounds.

Escobal continued his string of solid performances with 12 markers spiked by four triples, four boards and eight assists.

On the other hand, the Llamados weathered a miserable performance by James Yap as Joe Devance sparkled with 18 points even as Josh Urbiztondo and Marc Pingris contributed 11 points apiece.

The scores:

B-Meg (86) – Devance 18, Urbiztondo 11, Pingris 11, Simon 10, Acuña 6, Barroca 5, J. Yap 5, Reavis 5, Raymundo 5, R. Yap 4, De Ocampo 4, Ferriols 2

Shopinas.com (74) – Sena 20, Espiritu 16, Escobal 12, Ritualo 7, Jazul 6, Sison 5, Duncil 4, Aquino 2, Hubalde 2, Canlas 0, Se 0

Quarterscores: 28-11, 53-36, 72-56, 86-74