Last semis slot at stake

last semis slot at stake

Last semis slot at stake

MANILA, Philippines — One semifinal slot, two teams that are willing to do whatever it takes – even laboring beyond the 48-minute regulation play again – to lay their hands on it.

Fourth-ranked Phoenix, the only one among the Top 4 yet to land a seat in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis, and No. 5 Meralco, the only one capable of crashing the party of the elite squads with win-once incentives, engage in a death battle today.

The Fuel Masters and Bolts go at it one last time at 6:30 p.m. at the MOA Arena with top seed Magnolia as a very interested kibitzer.

The Hotshots blitzed their way to the best-of-five series after putting away No. 8 TNT last Wednesday, 109-94. The two other twice-to-beat teams, No. 2 San Miguel Beer and No. 3 Barangay Ginebra, also advanced on one take via closeouts of No. 7 Rain or Shine, 127-122, and No. 6 NorthPort, 106-93, respectively, Friday.

That left Phoenix hard-pressed to follow suit, albeit on a longer route, after yielding to Meralco in a draining triple-overtime encounter the first time around, 107-116.

“That’s why you work hard in the eliminations to get the twice-to-beat advantage so you have that luxury. If you don’t get it on the first try, you have another chance to get it. And there’s another opportunity for us to get to the semis on Sunday,” said Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin.

Meralco counterpart Luigi Trillo expects another cutthroat competition against the Fuel Masters.

“It’s going to come down to that again – the aggressive team is going to win. Sa akin, looking at it, we have an opportunity to make the semis and we deserve to be there, too,” said Trillo, whose crew is looking to replicate the team’s previous quarterfinals upsets of fourth seeds SMB in the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble and Ginebra in last season’s All-Filipino.

News Related

OTHER NEWS

Aliw Awards nominations out

ALIW Awards Foundation Inc. President Alice H. Reyes has released the names of finalists for the 2023 Aliw Awards to be presented on Dec. 11, 2023, at the Manila Hotel ... Read more »

WhatsApp Web gains the feature of single-view photos and videos

WhatsApp Web gains the feature of single-view photos and videos (Photo: Unsplash) The WhatsApp Web, the desktop version of the popular messaging app from Meta, has received an update allowing ... Read more »

Young athletes’ time to shine in Siklab Awards

Young athletes’ time to shine in Siklab Awards MANILA, Philippines — The future heroes of Philippine sports will be honored during the third Siklab Youth Sports Awards on Dec. 4 ... Read more »

Local exec says 5-10 barangays still isolated in Northern Samar

Graphics by Jannielyn Ann Bigtas A local government official said Monday that five to 10 barangays in Northern Samar are still isolated following the massive flooding in the area last ... Read more »

App made by ex-jeepney driver will let you pay PUV fare, book tricycles

DyipPay app lets you pay jeepney fare, book tricycles “Barya lang po sa umaga.” Everyone who rides jeepneys knows this rule: it may not be an actual law, but it’s ... Read more »

Updated In-Season Tournament Bracket ahead of pool play finale

Updated In-Season Tournament Bracket ahead of pool play finale Tuesday will mark the last day of pool play for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. From there, six first-place teams and ... Read more »

PCG forms teams for maritime emergency response

PCG forms teams for maritime emergency response MANILA, Philippines — Recent incidents of fishermen lost in the waters off Southern Tagalog have prompted the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to form ... Read more »
Top List in the World