NorthPort books ticket to q’finals
NorthPort avoided a complicated path to the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, advancing outright via a 98-96 win over Barangay Ginebra last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Chriatian Standhardinger dropped nine of his 17 in the final canto as the Batang Pier outraced the Gin Kings en route to taking the seventh slot in the next round with their 5-6 record.
Michael Qualls scattered 30 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while Sean Anthony contributed 18 spiked by four triples in the crucial win, which followed up NorthPort’s 102-94 toppling of No. 1 NLEX last Wednesday.
Ginebra, which was led by Justin Brownlee’s 31, wound up at 7-4, still assured of a quarterfinals bonus.
NorthPort’s triumph put to waste Rain or Shine’ 83-81 edging of Meralco in the first game.
The Elasto Painters had a 4-7 record after the elims but their low quotient in case of a tie for eighth will spell their doom.
The E-Painters outplayed the Bolts in the final push, unleashing a game-changing 23-12 salvo to wipe out a nine-point deficit and score a followup to their 91-85 upset of San Miguel Beer last Nov. 9 in Lapu-lapu City.
Coach Caloy Garcia’s charges finished the elims with thoughts of still making it to the next round.
“Big win for us. We just needed this game to survive, at least give us a chance,” said Caloy Garcia, not knowing that NorthPort would dash all their hopes by beating Ginebra.
“But whatever happens, we showed a lot of heart today. We showed a lot of things. We’re able to beat two strong teams (SMB and Meralco) and it’s a testament to the hardwork of the locals and having Rich Ross changed a lot of things. You can see he’s a winner,” said Garcia of his import, who delivered 26-12.