By Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings rolled over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 96-87, their fourth straight win and eighth overall against two losses in the PBA Governors’ Cup Wednesday night.
The win arranged a much-awaited battle for the top seeding between Ginebra and the TNT KaTropa (9-1) Sunday, the final game of the elimination round.
The loss denied Phoenix, now with a 5-6 win-loss card, an outright quarterfinals seat. The Fuel Masters will now have to wait for the results of the games Friday to know their fate.
Import Justin Brownlee led Ginebra with 28 markers, LA Tenorio posted 15 and Japeth Aguilar tallied 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Joe Devance and Sol Mercado added 12 points apiece, while Scottie Thompson grabbed a whopping 16 rebounds.
Import Eugene Phelps paced Phoenix with 24 points while Simon Enciso and Josh Urbiztondo had 15 and 11, respectively.
The Kings led by as many as 20 points but had to fend off a spirit Phoenix rally late in the game.
GlobalPort 139, Blackwater 126
GlobalPort Batang Pier ended their season at least on a winning note as they blasted the Blackwater Elite, 139-126.
Since both teams are already out of contention for the playoffs, the Batang Pier and the Elite turned the contest into a shooting exhibition as shown by the high scores.
GlobalPort thus finished the conference with a 4-7 win-loss card.
Blackwater fell to 1-9 with still a game left, against San Miguel Beer.
Joseph Yeo led the Batang Pier, posting 37 points, 22 of them scored in the first half. He was 9 of 16 from three-point distance.
Mike Glover poured 34 points and 18 rebounds in his final Governors’ Cup game. Terrence Romeo finished with 28 points. Stanley Pringle added 14 points and 10 assists while Jay Washington had 13 markers and eight boards.
Import Keala King paced the Elite with 28 points and 15 rebounds while Roi Sumang and Art Dela Cruz added 22 and 21, respectively.
Jordan 119, Gilas Pilipinas 105
The Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team suffered yet another devastating loss, bowing to Jordan, 119-105, in the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge Cup in Tehran, Iran.
Their fourth loss in five games slammed the quarterfinals door on the young and inexperienced Filipino dribblers.
They will now have to content themselves playing in the classification round against the other eliminated teams.
Von Pessumal led Gilas Pilipinas this time, scoring 30 points. However, he made most of those points during garbage time, when the game was beyond salvaging.
Mike Tolomia added 19 points while Mac Belo chipped in with 17 markers and six boards.
PBA Games Friday: Alaska Aces (5-5) vs. NLEX Road Warriors (5-5) and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (4-6) vs. Star Hotshots (2-8).
