The PBA Commissioner’s Cup is all but ready for the playoffs but will need one more game after the results of Friday’s outings. Here’s what happened:
Magnolia Dominates Meralco, Forces Knockout Match with NLEX
Ricardo Ratliffe powered his way to 31 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Magnolia Hotshots to a 129-92 drubbing of the Meralco Bolts and keep their hopes alive for a quarterfinals seat.
The Hotshots started strong, building a 35-28 lead after one before turning things up a notch in the second to enter halftime ahead, 73-47. Magnolia never looked back as the importless Bolts displayed little fight in a nonbearing game. Zavier Lucero added 22 for Magnolia’s cause, while Ian Sangalang and Mark Barroca chipped in 18 each.
Raymond Almazan carried the fight for Meralco with a conference-high 23, with CJ Cansino adding 11.
With the win, Magnolia forced a knockout game with the NLEX Road Warriors on Sunday at Ynares Center for the eighth and final quarters slot. Meralco will finished fifth and face Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a best-of-three.
The scores:
Magnolia (129) – Ratliffe 31, Lucero 22, Sangalang 18, Barroca 18, Abueva 14, Lee 7, Dionisio 7, Lastimosa 6, Alfaro 2, Dela Rosa 2, Laput 2, Eriobu 0, Balanza 0
Meralco (92) – Almazan23, Cansino 11, Black 9, Bates 8, Quinto 7, Banchero 6, Reyson 5, Torres 5, Rios 5, Mendoza 4, Caram 4, Pasaol 3, Newsome 2, Hodge 0
Rain or Shine Upends TNT, Avoids Sliding Down to KO Match
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters drew big games from Deon Thompson, Anton Asistio, and Santi Santillan to repulse the TNT Tropang Giga, 106-96, and ensure safe passage to the quarterfinals.
Thompson finished with a team-high 22 points for Rain or Shine and was able backstopped by the 21 points of Asistio and the 20 markers of Santillan. Caelan Tiongson added 13 and Andrei Caracut chipped in 9.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson fired a game-high 23 points to lead TNT, who took a 27-23 lead in the first quarter but faltered in the second, scoring only 17 points to Rain or Shine’s 34. Calvin Oftana added 20.
With the win, Rain or Shine will finish the eliminations sixth, setting up a best-of-three duel with the Converge FiberXers. A loss would’ve sent the Elasto Painters to a knockout game for the eighth seed against Magnolia. TNT will be no. 2 and have a win-once advantage against Hong Kong Eastern.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine (106) – Thompson 22, Asistio 21, Santillan 20, Tiongson 13, Caracut 9, Nocum 8, Belga 5, Datu 3, Clarito 3, Malonzo 2, Norwood 0
TNT (96) – Hollis-Jefferson 23, Oftana 20, Pogoy 13, Erram 13, Nambatac 11, Williams 6, Razon 4, Castro 3, Khobuntin 3, Galinato 0, Exciminiano 0, Aurin 0
PBA Commissioner’s Cup: KO Match for Eighth Seed
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup will need one more game—NLEX vs. Magnolia—to settle the final eight. Game time is at 7:30 p.m. at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
