The PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday at PhilSports Arena shook up the standings big time. Find out why:
Eastern Wallops Terrafirma, Secures Quarters Seat
Hong Kong Eastern secured a quarterfinals berth with a 134-110 dismantling of the Terrafirma Dyip. However, a likely knee injury to import Chris McLaughlin might have cast a dark cloud over the victory.
The winless Dyip actually stood toe-to-toe with the PBA’s guest, keeping in lockstep with Eastern, 79-79, with two minutes remaining in the third. But the visitors ended the third with a 9-0 blitz to create some separation and then poured it on in the final canto with a 45-31 finish.
Ramon Cao and Hayden Blankley topscored for Eastern with 23 apiece, with the former firing 12 of his total in the fourth. Kobey Lam, who finished with 20, also dropped 12 in the final 12 minutes. Steven Guinchard was the fourth Eastern player to score at least 20—with 17 coming in a big second canto.
Brandon Edwards scored a game-high 26 points, while Stanley Pringle had 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists for the still winless Dyip.
Eastern’s win also propelled the NorthPort Batang Pier and Converge FiberXers into the quarterfinals with their seven victories.
Up next:
Eastern vs. Magnolia on January 26 (Ynares Center)
Terrafirma vs. TNT Tropang Giga on January 22 (Ynares Center)
The Scores:
Eastern (134) – Cao 23, Blankley 23, Lam 20, Guinchard 20, Zhu 13, Pok 11, Leung 9, Yang 7, Chan 6, Xu 4, Cheung 3, McLaughlin 2
Terrafirma (110) – Edwards 26, Melecio 17, Pringle 16, Sangalang 13, Ferrer 12, Carino 9, Romeo 8, Paraiso 3, Hernandez 3, Manuel 2, Catapusan 1
TNT Frustrates Ginebra, Reasserts Mastery Over Rival
Calvin Oftana continued his superb play this Commissioner’s Cup, firing 32 points on six triples to help the TNT Tropang Giga to a 91-86 victory over nemesis Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was solid as a rock again, scoring 25 points on a perfect 13-for-13 from the charity stripe, grabbing 13 boards, and playing his usual stellar defense. Poy Erram added 10 for TNT, who moved to first place with their sixth win in eight games. Jayson Castro chipped in 9, including a big lay-in down the stretch.
Justin Brownlee topscored for Ginebra with 20 points on top of 16 rebounds, and 5 assists but again had a rough shooting night, going 5-for-21 from the field. The crowd darlings, who dropped all the way to seventh, shot a ghastly 36% overall as TNT again stymied Tim Cone’s wards.
Up next:
TNT vs. Terrafirma on 22 (Ynares Center)
Ginebra vs. Rain or Shine on January 22 (Ynares Center)
The Scores:
TNT (91) – Oftana 32, Hollis-Jefferson 25, Erram 10, Castro 9, Pogoy 6, Aurin 3, Razon 3, Khobuntin 3
Ginebra (86) – Brownlee 20, Holt 18, Rosario 16, Thompson 9, Abarrientos 8, J. Aguilar 7, Malonzo 6, Ahanmisi 2
PBA Commissioner’s Cup Goes to Ilocos Sur
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup continues later today with a featured matchup in Candon, Ilocos Sur, with the San Miguel Beermen taking on the Meralco Bolts. San Miguel, at 4-4 is looking to move up the standings, while Meralco is aiming to keep in step with NorthPort, Converge, and Eastern.
