CLINGING ON TO HOPE
GLOBALPORT is all out of the PLDT Home Tvolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs while Barako Bull is barely holding on.
Which of the teams would end their elimination round campaign on a positive note would be known Sunday when the Batang Pier and Energy tangle 3 p.m. Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A win by Barako would not be enough to push it through since Rain or Shine, Air21 and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel must stay at three wins for the Energy to have a shot at tying for the eighth and last spot in the quarterfinals.
A breakthrough triumph by GlobalPort in the conference, however, would not only salvage some pride for the Batang Pier but also formally shut the door on Barako.
Such stakes may not be as high as those of the other teams astride in the higher rungs of the leaderboard, but the only ones Barako and GlobalPort are left with.
GlobalPort sure came close to ending a losing spell that started in January.
Against an import-less Talk N Text, the Batang Pier fought mightily but could not – for the umpteenth time – carry its momentum home and lost a 91-92 decision only last Friday.
As stinging was Barako’s 98-105 loss to Meralco also two days ago, when the Energy squandered as much as a 44-22 second quarter spread before completely folding in the second half and dropping their second straight game and their fifth in their last six.
That left coach Bong Ramos and his charges the flimsy thread to hold on to.
Josh Dollard has been steady for Barako, averaging 33.88 points and 15.38 rebounds, but his teammates have been generally inconsistent in delivering the support which would have taken some of the load off their import.
Ditto for Evan Brock, although he did miss what would have been a game-tying free throw in the last two seconds against TNT.
Despite a highly-physical defense employed against him by the Tropang Texters, Brock still wound up with 26 points and 18 rebounds.
Giving the Batang Pier additional hope is the fact Alex Cabagnot seems to have fully blended in with his team after scoring a personal conference-high 29 points to go with six rebounds and seven assists versus TNT. (NC)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
