Batang Pier halt Bolts in 2nd OT for first win

MANILA, Philippines – GlobalPort finally broke into the win-column in the PBA Governors Cup in classic fashion, beating out Meralco, 126-123, in a double-overtime shootout to the delight of a huge Sunday crowd at the MOA Arena in Pasay.

The Batang Pier blew what seemed to be a won ball game in regulation but stayed calm and composed through 10 furious extra minutes, grinding out a first win after dropping their first four matches in the season-ending tourney.

Anthony Semerad fired away a career-high 24 markers, including six three-pointers – the last shattering the 123-all count with 14.9 seconds to go in second OT.

The Batang Pier, who squandered a six-point lead in the last 11 seconds of regulation play, eventually pulled through as Jonathan Uyloan misfired his own three-point attempt in the dying seconds.

“We’re playing with a new system and we’ve done a lot of adjustments. Finally, it worked,” said GlobalPort coach Johnedel Cardel.

“We just didn’t give up. We just didn’t break under pressure and we got the job done,” said Semerad, standing out with a remarkable 9-of-13 overall  field shooting, including timely hits in what’s easily the toughest game seen in the tournament thus far.

Mike Glover and Terrence Romeo also produced 20-point games with Stanley Pringle and Joseph Yeo adding a combined output of 26 as they negated Allen Durham’s huge 55-point job for the Bolts.

Finally putting a good defensive coverage on Durham in the final minute, the Batang Pier squeezed through and handed the Bolts their third loss against the same number of wins.

The Batang Pier just couldn’t stop Durham early on, with the prolific Meralco import going 19-of-30 from the field and 15-of-20 from the stripe to improve on his previous PBA high of 36 points.

Durham also collected 14 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block as they fought the Batang Pier in a real classic showdown.

The game went into overtime on a dramatic six-point swing by Cliff Hodge and Durham in the last 11 seconds of regulation.

With Meralco down 94-100, Hodge first rifled in a triple then the Bolts put up a pressing defense that forced Romeo into a passing error.

In a night of double-overtime games, San Miguel Beer also needed 10 extra minutes to fend off Barangay Ginebra, 111-105.

The Beermen outlasted the Gin Kings in the end and, in the process, caught up with the Mahindra Enforcers at second place at 4-1.

Ginebra, a spent force at the finish after a chase from 24 points down in the third quarter and from a fightback from nine points in the first extension play moved down to fourth at 4-2.