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MANILA, Philippines – The Star Hotshots used a backbreaking run in the fourth quarter to pull away from the GlobalPort Batang Pier and win their do-or-die game, 101-94, and advance to the semi-finals of the PBA Governors Cup Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Five players scored in double-digits for the defending champion Star, led by import Marqus Blakely who tallied a triple-double, and several players stepped up for the Hotshots as they turned back the stubborn Batang Pier.
The game was tied at 74-all with 7:49 left in the game, thanks to a booming triple by GlobalPort’s Terrence Romeo, but the deadlock was short-lived.
Alex Mallari drew a foul on GlobalPort’s Omar Krayem in their next trip down the court, and drained two free throws to give the Hotshots the lead for good. His charities sparked a 12-1 run that allowed Star to take an 11-point lead, 86-75, with 4:34 remaining in the contest.
Batang Pier never threatened again, and the Hotshots would even lead by as much as 13 points in the final minute of the contest.
With their victory, the Hotshots were able to overcome GlobalPort’s twice-to-beat disadvantage, and will now advance to the semi-finals where they will take on the top-seeded Alaska Aces.
The Hotshots crushed the Batang Pier, 126-73, in their first encounter last Friday to force the do-or-die showdown. The 53-point margin of victory was the largest in the history of the PBA playoffs.
“Tonight was just a difficult game to coach,” admitted Star head coach Tim Cone. “The expectations for us were high; the players had an opportunity to sit down and pat themselves in the back and relax. Human nature kind of snuck on us.”
“It was a very tough game, and I’m glad we got through it,” he added. “Down the stretch, we made some stops and got some rebounds, and that was the key.”
Huge start for Star Hotshots
Midway through the second period, it seemed as though the Hotshots would cruise on their way to another huge victory.
PJ Simon, Yousef Taha, and Justin Melton came off the bench and provided a huge boost, with Simon leading the way in an 18-0 run that turned a slim 21-18 lead into a 39-18 advantage with 6:23 to go in the second quarter.
Unlike in their first encounter, GlobalPort refused to fold. Import Jarrid Famous repeatedly attacked the basket, drawing fouls on his smaller defenders, while Terrence Romeo began to find his stroke after a shaky start.
It did not help that Star’s Marc Pingris was called for a technical foul after a brush with GlobalPort’s Ronjay Buenafe. At the halftime break, Star’s once-mighty 21-point lead had been trimmed to nine, 49-40.
GlobalPort continued to cut into the lead in the third quarter, led by top rookie Stanley Pringle. It was Pringle who gave the Batang Pier their first lead of the game, 65-64, with 1:21 left in the third period.
“Just tremendous resiliency by them (Batang Pier),” Cone said. “Pringle was awesome. He just took over, and we didn’t have an answer for him.”
Star quickly regained the lead, however; Joe DeVance canned two free throws then connected on a jump shot, and Melton added a bucket of his own as the Hotshots ended the third period on a 6-0 run to take a 70-65 lead entering the final canto.
The Batang Pier responded with a 6-0 run of their own, capped by a jump shot from Famous, that allowed them to take a 71-70 lead with 10:19 left in the game. Unfortunately for GlobalPort, they missed several chances to pad their lead, and Mark Barroca’s jumper with under nine minutes left gave the advantage back to the Hotshots.
James Yap made it 74-71 with 8:13 to go, and after Romeo’s game-tying triple, it was all Hotshots from that point.
Tough-minded team
Cone admitted that he got nervous when GlobalPort took advantage, saying: “When they got up by one or two points, I was thinking, this is it. How are we gonna live this one down? We beat a team so badly, and they come back and beat us?”
He commended GlobalPort counterpart Pido Jarencio, saying that the former University of Santo Tomas mentor “did a great job” in preparing the Batang Pier and helping them overcome their historic loss in the previous game.
“He had those great, tough-minded UST teams in the UAAP,” Cone said of Jarencio. “Tonight, they played like those teams.”
Blakely contributed his usual all-around game for Star with 15 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists, four steals, and three blocked shots as he lived up to his “Mr. Everything” moniker. Mallari and Yap both scored 17 points, while Simon and Devance combined for 27 points off the bench.
Famous played all 48 minutes and contributed 38 points and 21 rebounds, while Pringle finished with 16 points but struggled with cramps towards the end of the game. Romeo added 15 markers for the Batang Pier.
The Hotshots converted 43.4% of their field goals and tallied 25 assists against only 14 for GlobalPort. Even with Famous grabbing 21 rebounds, Star still won the rebounding battle, 59 to 49.
“They got a strong import in Travis Romeo,” Blakely said of their series against Alaska. “We gotta go back to practice, draw up the game plan, and mentally and physically get ready for the game.”
The scores:
STAR 101 – Mallari 17, Yap 17, Blakely 15, Simon 14, Devance 13, Taha 8, Barroca 6, Pingris 6, Melton 5, Pennisi 0.
GLOBALPORT 94 – Famous 38, Pringle 16, Romeo 15, Krayem 9, Jensen 7, Buenafe 6, Kramer 3, Semerad 0, Miranda 0.
Quarters: 21-16, 49-40, 70-65, 101-94
Photo: PBA Images
This story was republished with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
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