GlobalPort trips RoS, joins 4-way tie on top

Stanley Pringle during the Rain or Shine-GlobalPort game. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Driving through the gut of the enemy’s defense, Stanley Pringle defied a Rain or Shine triple team for a layup with five-tenths of a second left, lifting GlobalPort to a pulsating 113-111 win and into a share of the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup eliminations lead at PhilSports Arena Friday night.

Pringle scored the game-winner over Rain or Shine’s best defenders and saved the game for the Batang Pier, who blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and were looking at extra time straight in the eye before rising to
3-1, tying their victims and idle San Miguel Beer and Alaska.

“The desire of the players to win was there,” GlobalPort coach Pido Jarencio said.

Pringle finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Beau Belga, the 6-foot-7 Raymond Almazan and Jireh Ibañes couldn’t stop Pringle’s game-clinching drive.

Mahindra used a hot start and total team play to post a 103-93 victory over NLEX and snap a three-game losing streak in the first game.

Big man Kyle Pascual came off the bench to fire 14 points and four others tossed in 11 or more as the Enforcers built an early 17-point lead before pulling away again late in the third period to win for the first time this season.

And while the Enforcers were fluid as a team, the Road Warriors slumped to their second straight defeat in a 2-2 card after getting basically just two men—Asi Taulava and Sean Anthony—to contribute heavily in offense.

Taulava scattered a season-best 31 points while Anthony scored 19, had 13 rebounds and fell just three assists shy of a triple double.

“We played with a sense of urgency today,” Mahindra coach Chito Victolero said.

The win was a relief for the Enforcers, who lost by narrow margins to three of the league’s top teams.

“We played very well (in those games) but just didn’t get the breaks,” Victolero added.

Meanwhile, Talk ‘N Text shoots for a third straight win Saturday when it clashes with Star in a Petron Saturday Special game at Quezon Convention Center in Lucena.

Game time is 5 p.m.

The Hotshots have a 2-2 record and will be coming off a shaky 92-90 nipping of NLEX in a game where they blew a commanding lead and needed an endgame blunder by the Road Warriors to pull out the win.

Aldrech Ramos, a member of the last Gilas Pilipinas pool, and KG Canaleta each scored half of their 14 points in the hot first quarter for the Enforcers, who, with the win, left Meralco as the only winless side in the conference.

LA Revilla picked up his fourth foul in the second period but still finished with 13 points and seven assists as NLEX failed to find a match for the pint-sized Mahindra point guard.

The scores:
First Game
MAHINDRA 103—Canaleta 14, Pascual 14, Ramos 14, Revilla 13, Yee 11, Hubalde 9,Guinto 8, Pinto 7, Bagatsing 5, Alvarez 4, Dehesa 2, Webb 2, Jaime 0.
NLEX 93—Taulava 31, Anthony 19, Enciso 9, Arboleda 8, Villanueva J. 8, Borboran 5, Cardona 4, Alas 3, Camson 2, Reyes 2, Apinan 1, Villanueva E. 1, Khobuntin 0, Lanete 0.
Quarters: 26-16, 51-43, 74-60, 103-93