By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno | PNA
MANILA — The NorthPort Batang Pier clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Basketball Association’s Philippine Cup right at the final game of the elimination round, beating Barangay Ginebra, 100-97, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Wednesday night.
Robert Bolick scored the eventual go-ahead basket with 52 seconds left, while Stanley Pringle added two clutch free throws as the Batang Pier ended the game with five straight points to steal the win away from the Barangay.
Sol Mercado actually had a chance to force overtime, but his three-pointer rimmed out and Pringle preserved the win with a defensive rebound.
Bolick finished with 24 points, three rebounds, five assists, and one steal for NorthPort, which took the seventh seed following NLEX Road Warrior’s 84-102 loss to Magnolia Hotshots in the first game.
The Hotshots denied the Road Warriors outright entry into the next round after stifling them in the first half before going on a 31-point third quarter blast.
Paul Lee made 26 points, five rebounds, one assist, and two steals in only 23 and a half minutes for Magnolia, which locked in the sixth seed and will face third-seeded Ginebra, which got 14 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one block from Greg Slaughter in a losing effort to NorthPort, in the best-of-three quarterfinals starting on Saturday night.
Bong Galanza gathered 10 markers, three boards, one steal, and one block for NLEX, which will now have to take on Alaska at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Friday night for the last quarterfinal ticket.
