TNT, SMB, Ginebra nail best-of-3 spots

MANILA, Philippines — TNT KaTropa treated it like a do-or-die battle as it stormed  a Rain or Shine squad, which had nothing to lose in a 100-85 victory that gave the Texters the third spot in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Josh Smith more than held his own versus Reggie Johnson in a veritable duel of giants and Troy Rosario provided solid support as the Texters upended the Elasto Painters for an 8-3 win-loss closing card in the eliminations.

Despite the loss, Rain or Shine topped the elims with a 9-2 record, and will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in a quarterfinals matchup with eighth seed GlobalPort.

The Texters actually caught up with the Alaska Milk Aces at second place at 8-3. The Aces, however, claimed the No. 2 playoff spot on a winner-over-the-other rule.

Later in the night, Magnolia won its last game in the elims over San Miguel Beer, 101-97, but the quirks of the quotient tiebreak denied the Hotshots a Top Six finish.

Ginebra, San Miguel and Magnolia, ending up with identical 6-5 slates, finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, upon the application of the tiebreak.

It’s TNT KaTropa versus San Miguel and Meralco against Ginebra in a pair of best-of-three quarterfinals that will fire off tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

As the seventh seed, Magnolia takes on No. 2 Alaska Milk, needing to win two in a row in order to advance to the Final Four.

The scores: 

First Game

TNT 100 – Smith 25, Rosario 19, Reyes 12, Williams 9, Pogoy 8, Semerad 6, Trollano 6, Cruz 5, Garcia 4, Paredes 4, Romeo 2, Golla 0, Carey 0, Tamsi 0.

Rain or Shine 85 – Johnson 12, Tiu 11, Ahanmisi 10, Yap 10, Almazan 9, Belga 9, Nambatac 8, Onwubere 6, Daquioag 5, Torres 3, Maiquez 2, Norwood 0, Ponferada 0, Borboran 0, Washington 0, Casiño 0. 

Quarterscores: 24-20, 47-39, 76-58, 100-85

Second Game

Magnolia 101 – Chism 21, Lee 14, Sangalang 14, Barroca 11, Herndon 10, Jalalon 9, Melton 8, Brondial 5, Dela Rosa 4, Simon 3, Gamalinda 2, Reavis 0, Ramos 0.

San Miguel 97 – Balkman 31, Fajardo 18, Santos 13, Lassiter 12, Ross 9, Cabagnot 9, Nabong 5, Rosser 0, Heruela 0.

Quarterscores: 29-27, 45-44, 78-76, 101-97