Jay R. Gotera
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — The Meralco Bolts exploded with a 10-2 run in the endgame to beat the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 82-70, on a rainy Tuesday night in the final elimination round game of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Their sixth victory in 11 outings allowed the Bolts to clinch the sixth seeding with the twice-to-beat advantage by virtue of the quotient system tiebreaker. They will face the defending champion Purefoods Star Hotshots in the quarterfinals.
Ginebra, Meralco and Purefoods actually finished the elimination round with identical 6-5 records, but the quotient system took care of their seeding. GlobalPort (5-6 win-loss card) slid to eighth place and will face fifth seed Ginebra, needing to win twice to advance.
The game was closely fought until the last four minutes when the Bolts made their breakaway. Meralco outscored GlobalPort, 24-14, in the final period. Cliff Hodge led Meralco with 15 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and a key steal with a minute left that finally sealed the win for the Bolts.
GlobalPort, meanwhile, fell to 5-6 for the eight seed. The Batang Pier are paired up against the Gin Kings, who will have twice-to-beat advantage in their series.
San Miguel 91, Blackwater 62
The San Miguel Beermen joined the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the semifinals, blasting the winless Blackwater Elite, 91-62.
The Beermen ended up tied with the Painters at the top of the standings, both with a 9-2 win-loss card, but SMB clinched the first spot due to the winner-over-the-other tiebreaker rule.
The Elite ended their first conference in the PBA with a 0-11 record. Ronald Tubid led the Beermen with 18 points, while Sol Mercado and Jun Mar Fajardo chipped in with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
SMB pulled away in the second quarter, erecting a 31-18 lead. The Beermen led by as many as 19 points, 50-31, and simply coasted to victory.
Purefoods 99, Barako Bull 83
The defending champion Purefoods Star Hotshots clinched the No. 7 seeding, overpowering the Barako Bull Energy, 99-83.
Barako Bull fell to ninth spot with a 4-7 card and will face Talk N Text Tropang Texters (8-3) in the quarterfinals with a twice-to-beat disadvantage.
Marc Pingris paced Purefoods with 20 points, 10 of them scored in the fourth quarter that warded off a rally by the Energy who came to within eight points.
PJ Simon added 16 points while Joe Devance had 12 for the Hotshots. Mick Pennisi played his first game with Purefoods after being traded by Barako Bull just a day earlier for seldom used Purefoods players Ronnie Matias and Isaac Holstein. The 6’9” Fil-Italian veteran finished with just three points.
JC Intal led the Energy with 20 points while RR Garcia and Denok Miranda added 14 points apiece.
Games Thursday: Alaska Aces vs. NLEX Road Warriors; Meralco Bolts vs. Purefoods Star Hotshots.
