GlobalPort shocks Alaska for first semifinal victory

Veteran Billy Mamaril of GlobalPort penetrates the defense of the Alaska Aces in Game 1 of their semifinal series at the Mall of Asia Arena. (PBA IMAGES)

Games today (Mall of Asia Arena)
7 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs San Miguel

GlobalPort made its Final Four debut in style as it rode on the spectacular performance of blonde-haired bomber Terrence Romeo, who set a new career-high of 41 points to lead the Batang Pier to a 107-93 victory over the Alaska Aces in Game 1 of the best-of-seven semifinals series in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Unfazed by the high stakes, Romeo, whose father hails from Boljoon, southern Cebu, played with controlled aggression and surprising efficiency, scoring at will before finishing the Aces off with a banked-in three-pointer that nudged their lead to a dozen, 103-91, with just 44 seconds remaining in the game.

Romeo’s high-scoring spectacle eclipsed his former high of 40. He shot 12-of-21 from the field and made six of his 11 attempts from three-point country. He padded his stat-line with four assists and two steals.

Romeo, though, shrugged off the feat and instead, trained his eyes on the difficult task of beating the veteran Alaska squad three more times.

“Hindi mahalaga kung career-high or what. Ang importante nanalo ang team,” said Romeo after the game.

Romeo was backed by his backcourt-mate Stanley Pringle, who scored 14 points, pulled down six boards and dished out four assists. Keith Jensen and journeyman center Billy Mamaril had 12 apiece with the latter scoring half of his total in the final frame, highlighted by a spectacular acrobatic reverse lay-up that pushed the lead back to 10, 98-88, with exactly three minutes to go.

The Batang Pier got off to a sizzling start, leading, 24-6, behind a 13-point first quarter from Romeo before the Aces got their act together and pulled to within three, 29-32.