MANILA, Philippines – Smart-Gilas Pilipinas earned the first automatic semis berth in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a 111-104 drubbing of Barangay Ginebra on Wednesday.
According to PBA.ph, the Nationals leaned on Marcus Douthit to outhustle the Gin Kings in the final stretch.
The 6’10” naturalized player rallied Gilas from an 18-point deficit just 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Douthit poured in 14 of his conference-high 30 points in that quarter to lead the way for the Nationals.
Marcio Lassiter also tallied 21 points to help the Nationals get past the fan favorite Ginebra.
Gilas now enjoys solo leadership in the team standings with a 7-1 win-loss slate. The win also assured them 1 of the 2 outright semifinal berths accorded to the Top 2 finishers in the 9-game eliminations.
“I think we played good basketball, we played a great game. I think we showed we had great character in difficult moments,” said Gilas head coach Rajko Toroman.
Import Nate Brumfield and locals Willie Miller and Mark Caguioa each finished with 21 points for the Gin Kings.
They, however, missed crucial attempts in the end game and this led to Ginebra’s 3rd loss in 8 games.
Meralco gets the boot
The second game, meanwhile, saw the Meralco Bolts being eliminated from the Commissioner’s Cup race.
Air21 Express killed Meralco’s chances of reaching the playoffs by stomping the Bolts, 110-101.
It was Meralco’s 6th loss in 8 games.
With the win, the Express is now tied with Rain or Shine for 6th place with identical 3-4 slates.
The victory also kept the Express’ playoff hopes alive.
“We kept alive our playoff hopes, and it’s up to the players to nurture it. We can’t rely on the other teams losing their games,” said Air21 coach Bong Ramos in PBA.ph.
According to PBA.ph, the Nationals leaned on Marcus Douthit to outhustle the Gin Kings in the final stretch.
The 6’10” naturalized player rallied Gilas from an 18-point deficit just 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Douthit poured in 14 of his conference-high 30 points in that quarter to lead the way for the Nationals.
Marcio Lassiter also tallied 21 points to help the Nationals get past the fan favorite Ginebra.
Gilas now enjoys solo leadership in the team standings with a 7-1 win-loss slate. The win also assured them 1 of the 2 outright semifinal berths accorded to the Top 2 finishers in the 9-game eliminations.
“I think we played good basketball, we played a great game. I think we showed we had great character in difficult moments,” said Gilas head coach Rajko Toroman.
Import Nate Brumfield and locals Willie Miller and Mark Caguioa each finished with 21 points for the Gin Kings.
They, however, missed crucial attempts in the end game and this led to Ginebra’s 3rd loss in 8 games.
Meralco gets the boot
The second game, meanwhile, saw the Meralco Bolts being eliminated from the Commissioner’s Cup race.
Air21 Express killed Meralco’s chances of reaching the playoffs by stomping the Bolts, 110-101.
It was Meralco’s 6th loss in 8 games.
With the win, the Express is now tied with Rain or Shine for 6th place with identical 3-4 slates.
The victory also kept the Express’ playoff hopes alive.
“We kept alive our playoff hopes, and it’s up to the players to nurture it. We can’t rely on the other teams losing their games,” said Air21 coach Bong Ramos in PBA.ph.
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