By JAY R. GOTERA
MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings engaged the Meralco Bolts in an intense playoff-like battle before squeezing out a 90-89 victory in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday night.
The Kings thus won three games in just one week to improve to an 8-2 win-loss mark, tying idle Star Hotshots at the top of the standings and, more importantly, bolstering their chances for a Top 2 finish.
The Bolts reeled to their third straight defeat to finish the eliminations at 7-4.
Although he finished with just six points, Joe Devance was huge factor for Ginebra in the endgame, dishing out nifty behind-the-back pass to Japeth Aguilar for the jumper that tied the game at 86, and then scoring on a putback that gave the Kings the lead for good. Devance also collected 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Import Justin Brownlee and LA Tenorio scored 22 points apiece to lead the Ginebra offense. Sol Mercado finished with 14 markers while Aguilar and Scottie Thompson added 11 and 9 points, respectively. Aguilar also had 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and two steals.
Meralco’s defeat spoiled Baser Amer’s superb showing, as the sophomore tallied 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 39 minutes.
Import Alex Stepheson dished out 18 points, 20 boards, and 5 blocks. However, he committed 7 turnovers.
Jared Dillinger scored 15 points while Newsome and Hodge each had 13 points. Hodge collared 9 boards while Newsome had 6.
After Tenorio’s two free throws gave Ginebra a 99-86 lead with 30 seconds left, Cliff Hodge nailed a corner three-pointer to cut the Kings’ lead to a whisker with 7 ticks left.
Brownlee missed two free throws in the ensuing play, giving Meralco a last chance to steal the game. However, an errant pass by Chris Newsome's to the streaking Hodge sealed Meralco’s doom as the ball went out of bounds.
TNT KaTropa 105, Rain or Shine 102
The TNT KaTropa Texters weathered a furious late-game comeback by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to eke out a 105-102 victory to finish the elimination round with an 8-3 win-loss card.
Thus, the Texters kept their hopes alive for a Top 2 finish depending on the results of the final elimination round games this week.
Rookie Roger Pogoy bailed TNT out of trouble in the endgame as his long jumper broke the last deadlock in the game. The Gilas team member finished with 10 points.
New import Joshua Smith shrugged foul trouble to lead TNT with 23 points and 12 boards. Ranidel de Ocampo tallied 21 markers while Troy Rosario added 11 points. Ryan Reyes chipped in 10 just like Pogoy while Mo Tautuaa and RR Garcia scored 9 points apiece.
Before Pogoy’s heroics, however, the Texters saw their 16-point lead vanished after James Yap sparked a searing ROS rally, with his three-point play tying the game at 101-all with less than 2 minutes left. Yap finished with a team-high 23 points.
The Painters absorbed their second straight loss and sixth in 11 games. Nevertheless, ROS is already assured of a quarterfinals ticket.
Jeff Chan dished out 18 markers for ROS while Beau Belga added 13. Import import Duke Crews was a huge letdown for the Painters, scoring just 9 points before he was ejected in the third quarter for being whistled for a second technical foul.
Games Wednesday: San Miguel Beermen (7-2) vs. Blackwater Elite (2-8) and Star Hotshots (8-2) vs. Alaska Aces (4-6).
