2 PBA semifinals slots up for grabs

MANILA, Philippines — The last two berths in the Final Four of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup will be up for grabs Saturday with Rain or Shine and San Mig Coffee hoping to ride the momentum of their recent victories that forged the rubber matches against different foes at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Elasto Painters will battle the Meralco Bolts at 2:45 p.m. with Rain or Shine looking for another win after its 102-93 victory on Tuesday.

San Mig tries to make it two-in-a-row over Alaska at 5:15 p.m. with the winner forging a semifinal clash against  Talk ‘N Text.

San Miguel Beer and Air21 were playing at presstime with the survivor meeting the Rain or Shine-Meralco winner  in the semifinals beginning Monday.

Ugly turn

Game 2 of the ROS-Meralco series took a turn for the ugly on Tuesday when Cliff Hodge of the Bolts hit Raymond Almazan with a closed fist in the face during a rebounds play in the closing seconds.

That act prompted Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao to wait for Hodge near the dugout then called the Meralco forward a mongoloid.

Those acts have been reviewed and  commissioner Chito Salud fined Hodge P20,000 after upgrading the ordinary foul into a Flagrant Foul 2 infraction.

P100,000 fine

Guiao was hit with a P100,000 penalty for his derogatory remark against Hodge.

That development is expected to spice up action even more, especially after Guiao had expressed displeasure over the way games are being called by the referees.

“If they want us to be physical and dirty, we can be like that,” Guiao had said after the Game 2 win, as he pressed his attack on Hodge by calling him as “someone who just likes to hurt people.”

Meralco is again on the brink of blowing control, as the Bolts have been dragged into a deciding Game 3 for the third time in as many appearances in a head-to-head series.

The Bolts have never won a series, blowing 1-0 leads against B-Meg and San Mig Coffee in this same tournament the last two seasons. That would just add to the pressure that they would feel today as they try to put the formidable Painters away.

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