JAY R. GOTERA
Saudi Gazette
MANILA– Sean Anthony exploded with a career-high 37 points to lead the NLEX Road Warriors to a rousing come-from-behind 111-106 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Saturday night in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Anthony was on fire all game long, shooting 13-of-20 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and his team’s last eight points, personally delivering a stunning blow on the Painters that deprived the latter of a Top 2 finish and an automatic semifinals ticket. Anthony also tallied six rebounds and five assists in his best game yet in the league.
A victory would have given Rain or Shine the No. 1 seeding, forcing Alaska and San Miguel to fight for the second automatic semis berth in a playoff.
But NLEX had other things in mind as it relegated Rain or Shine to the No. 3 spot, forcing the Painters to go through the quarterfinal round, albeit with a twice-to-beat advantage, against the winner of Mahindra (2-8) vs. Blackwater (2-8) game Sunday.
NLEX finished with a 5-6 win-loss card, taking the No. 7 seeding in the quarterfinals. It will go up against the loser of the Ginebra (6-4) versus TNT (6-4) game on Sunday.
Rain or Shine finished the elimination round with an 8-3 win-loss card, thus giving way for Alaska (9-2) to take the top seed and San Miguel Beer (9-2) the second seed.
Asi Taulava also played a big game for NLEX, tallying a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jonas Villanueva and Mac Cardona added 14 and 11 markers, respectively.
Beau Belga led Rain or Shine with 18 points, Jeff Chan had 15, Jewel Ponferada 13, Chris Tiu with 11 and Raymond Almazan with 10 points.
Alaska 108, Barako Bull 100
In the first game of Saturday’s double-header, the Alaska Aces downed the Barako Bull, 108-100, a victory that eventually ensured their No. 1 seeding later in the night following Rain or Shine’s defeat.
Defense did it for the Aces as they limited the Energy to a miserable 36-point shooting percentage. As the victory was huge for Alaska, the loss was a heart-breaker for Barako Bull which lost a twice-to-beat advantage after failing to land in the Top 6. The Energy thus settled for a No. 7 seeding heading into the quarterfinals. This gave Ginebra and Talk ‘N Text the last two seats in the Top 6 with a twice-to-beat advantage. The two teams will only be battling for positioning in their game on Sunday, the last day of the Philippine Cup elimination round.
Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel scored 22 and 21 points, respectively to lead the Aces. Abueva added 13 rebounds and three assists while Manuel had seven boards of his own.
Willy Wilson led Barako Bull with 23 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. JC Intal added 15 points and nine boards, including four three-pointers. Chico Lanete chipped in 14 markers, Josh Urbiztondo had 13, Eman Monfort 12, and Jeric Fortuna 10.
Games Sunday: Blackwater Elite (2-8) vs. Mahindra Enforcers (2-8) and Barangay Ginebra Kings (6-4) vs. Talk N Text Tropang Texters (6-4).
