GlobalPort edges Kia in fight-marred match

Games today
Araneta Coliseum
4:15 p.m.- Meralco vs. NLEX
7:00 p.m.- San Miguel vs. Alaska

The GlobalPort Batang Pier avoided the upset axe when they rallied from double-digit deficits to down expansion team Kia Sorento, 84-79, last night in the 40th PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

Rookie Anthony Semerad played big in the endgame, scoring six crucial points in the final three minutes to help Batang Pier seal their second win in four games.

The six-foot-four Semerad, however, figured in a scuffle in the closing minutes after he and Kia’s Chad Alonzo wrestled in the paint.

Both were slapped with technical fouls and are expected to be summoned by league commissioner Chito Salud .

GlobaPort trailed for most part of the game before coming up big in the endgame.

Semerad, the 2014 NCAA Finals MVP, dropped four free throws and hit a high-arcing shot that gave GlobalPort an a 80-74 lead with only 1:35 left.

Another GlobalPort rookie, Stanley Pringle, also gave the Batang Pier a huge lift, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Ronjay Buenafe scored 19 points, Semerad and Mark Isip chipped 12 and 10 markers, respectively as GlobalPort survived the offensive woes of Terrence Romeo and the absence of Alex Cabagnot (throat infection).

Romeo only managed two points on one-for-12 shooting from the field that saw him missing all his seven attempts from the three-point land.

Kia, which failed to protect a 47-36 halftime lead, droped to 1-3.

BOX SCORES
GLOBALPORT (84) – Buenafe 19, Pringle 13, Semerad 12, Isip 10, De Ocampo 8, Ponferada 6, Jensen 5, Pinto 4, Taha 3, Romeo 2, Baclao 2, Caperal 0, Nabong 0.
KIA (79) – Thiele 19, Cervantes 15, Padilla 11, Jaime 9, Buensuceso 7, Raymundo 7, Alvarez 4, Dehesa 4, Lingganay 3, Revilla 0, Alonzo 0, Saldua 0, Pascual 0.QUARTERSCORES: 13-19, 36-47, 62-61, 84-79./EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA