TWIN DO-OR-DIE GAME THREE SET
Game tomorrow (MOA Arena) 4:30 p.m. – Magnolia vs NLEX 6:30 p.m. – Ginebra vs Meralco *Series tied, 1-1
Backed to a corner, NLEX and Barangay Ginebra retaliated hard and dragged their respective quarterfinal opponents to you-or-me duels for PBA Philippine Cup Final Four seats.
The Road Warriors, with returning ace playmaker Kevin Alas dishing out a career game, made course correction after their opening 98-89 loss and countered with a series-tying 90-77 Game 2 victory last night at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
NLEX’ triumph completed a day of fightbacks in the rare PBA foray in San Juan as the Gin Kings, refusing to say die against closeout-seeking Meralco, hammered out a 94-87 verdict in the curtain-raiser.
The twin results set the stage for a double winner-take-all Game 3 tomorrow over at the MOA Arena. NLEX and Magnolia settle the score with early semifinalist TNT waiting in the wings while Ginebra and Meralco dispute a ticket against first qualifier San Miguel Beer.
Alas, who missed the team’s two games due to hamstring issues and health protocols, rifled in 22 in the first half to power NLEX to a 24-point cushion that provided momentum for the wire-to-wire equalizer.
The former Letran star finished with a new career-high 30 and completed his heroics by teaming up with Tony
Semerad in a 13-3 blast that restored an 88-68 margin after the Hotshots came to within nine from a high of 26.
Calvin Oftana added 10 markers and nine boards while Semerad shot seven of his nine in the fourth to help NLEX stop Magnolia, which had won its last eight assignments prior to this,
“Masaya ako sa performance namin. Before pag nagkaroon kami ng big lead, nauubos, nag-pa-panic kami sa pressure nila. Pero ngayon mas maganda ang reaction namin sa pressure nila,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao.
Earlier, Ginebra’s big guns rose to the occasion in a must-win encounter marked by constant banging of bodies and in some instance, blood drawn. Japeth Aguilar punched in a conferencehigh 25 points, punctuated by a slam dunk that led to an 89-82 cushion in the last 2:00 while Christian Standhardinger, who was involved in a pre-game commotion with Meralco’s
Franky Johnson, banged in 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. The scores: First Game Ginebra 94 – J.Aguilar 25, Standhardinger 15, Tenorio 13, Thompson 11, Pringle 9, Chan 8, Pinto 7, Caperal 4, Mariano 2. Meralco 87 – Hodge 25, Maliksi 14, Pasaol 14, Almazan 10, Black 9, Newsome 8, Pascual 3, Banchero 2, Quinto 2. Quarterscores: 25-25, 56-45, 69-71, 94-87 Second Game NLEX 90 – Alas 30, Oftana 10, Semerad 9, Varilla 8, Trollano 8, Quinahan 8, Chua 6, Nieto 6, Miranda 3, Rosales 2, Paniamogan 0, Ighalo 0. Magnolia 77 – Abueva 20, Lee 12, Dionisio 11, Sangalang 10, Jalalon 7, Reavis 4, Barroca 4, Dela Rosa 4, Wong 3, Corpuz 2, Brill 0, Ahanmisi 0, Zaldivar 0, Escoto 0. Quarterscores: 25-18, 55-32, 73-59, 90-77