Games Today
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m. – NLEX vs Alaska
6:45 p.m. – Barangay Ginebra vs TNT KaTropa
CALASIAO, Pangasinan – Of the four teams still in the hunt for a top two berth in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals, Rain or Shine is considered as the longest shot.
After getting 23 points from Raymund Almazan and twin digits from four others in a 101-95 decision of Magnolia in a Petron Saturday Special game at Calasiao Sports Complex here, the Elasto Painters have put themselves in position to go through that eye of the needle, so to speak.
For them, it’s one powerhouse down and three more title favorites to go.
Rumored to be demanding a trade for reportedly being at odds with head coach Caloy Garcia, Almazan didn’t show any of that. He scored the Painters’ first seven points and finished with a 9-for-11 clip and was obviously the biggest factor in the authoritative win.
The Painters won a third straight game and rose to 5-3 and kept their outside chance, but they would be slugging it out with Alaska, three-time defending champion San Miguel Beer and crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra to close out their elimination round assignment.
And there’s no other squad in the field which will have a tougher final three games.
“The last four games that we will be playing are the top teams and I just asked my players to go out there and compete,” coach Caloy Garcia said.
“We’re not thinking of the top two at the moment, we want to take it one game at a time.”
Garcia is wary of the two-week rest his Painters will be having before they play the Aces.
“We would have wanted to play again coming from a game like this,” he said. “We will just have to stay sharp during that break.”
Magnolia dropped out of a three-way tie for the lead to be in third at 6-3 but could still get to eight wins with games against GlobalPort and Meralco still scheduled.
Paul Lee missed a third straight game for the Hotshots because of a high ankle sprain as coach Chito Victolero did not take a chance until the former Rookie of the Year is 100% healthy and be fit for the tougher grind in the playoffs.
James Yap, Magnolia’s former franchise player, scored 13 points highlighted by a critical three-point play off Justin Melton in the dying minutes that staved off the last of the Hotshots’ rallies.
Aldrech Ramos fired 26 points, including three triples in the fourth that kept Magnolia in the game.
Meanwhile, Alaska takes its turn at getting out of a tie for the lead when the red-hot Aces battle resurgent NLEX at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tied with the Beermen, the Aces will be shooting to win a seventh straight game and keep their momentum going in time for a key collision with San Miguel later in the week in a match that could ultimately go down for one of two quarterfinal bonuses.
Barangay Ginebra and TNT KaTropa lock horns in the 6:45 p.m. contest with both looking for victories that would keep them in the middle of the playoff draw.
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