Ginebra, GlobalPort shoot for outright passage to QF
THE Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings and GlobalPort Batang Pier play their final game in the elimination round of the Philippine Cup today against separate opponents with an eye on notching a direct passage to the quarterfinals of the season- opening tournament of the Philippine Basketball Association ( PBA).
Currently sporting identical 5-5 records, good for joint sixth place in the playoff race, both the Kings and Batang Pier are shooting for the magic number of six wins to formalize their entry into the next round of the competition.
Barangay Ginebra plays the already- qualified Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (6-4) in the 7 p. m. main game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum while GlobalPort takes on the still-fighting Phoenix Fuel Masters (4-6) in the curtain-raiser at 4:30 p.m.
The Kings lost to the Meralco Bolts, 84- 82, on Feb. 18 which dealt a big blow to their playoff push and set up today’s “must-win” game against Rain or Shine.
Japeth Aguilar led the way for Barangay Ginebra in said game with 20 points while Scottie Thompson had all-around numbers of 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Barangay Ginebra will play a Rain or Shine team fresh from booking its quarterfinal seat on Wednesday with a 95-80 victory over league-leading and defending champions San Miguel Beermen.
Big men Beau Belga and Jewel Ponferrada paced the Elasto Painters with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
HIGH STAKES
GlobalPort and Phoenix, meanwhile, engage in a very highstakes encounter that has a lot of playoff implications.
The Batang Pier are facing a team in Phoenix fighting for its tournament life for a loss by the latter means automatic exit.
GlobalPort won over Kia, 10891, in its last game on Feb. 21 that padded their cause in trying to earn a spot in the next round.
Kelly Nabong and Sean Anthony showed the way for the Batang Pier with 21 points each while Stanley Pringle added 15.
“The players really want to enter the playoffs and we will try to achieve that in our next game,” said GlobaPort coach Pido Jarencio after notching win number five in their previous game.
Shooting to prevent GlobalPort in its quest while infusing life back in their slowly flickering playoff hopes are the Fuel Masters.
Outside looking in right now, Phoenix has to win if it is to continue to be in the mix for the quarterfinal picture; a loss means the end of the line for them in the tournament.
Phoenix lost in a key match against the Blackwater Elite, 8378, on Feb. 21.
As per tournament, ties for the quarterfinals will be broken by quotient system with playoff games only to be held for the eighth seed.
Also still alive in the playoff hunt are the TNT KaTropa and Blackwater with 5-6 cards.