Star, Meralco dump foes

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/PBA IMAGES

Star kept its faint hopes of nailing a top four berth alive by capping KIA’s horrendous showing in the PBA Governors’ Cup with a 128-81 rout Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

The Hotshots nailed their sixth win in 10 outings. And while they are assured of a semifinal berth, tabbing a twice-to-beat edge in the playoffs still hangs in the balance for the squad.

The Picanto, meanwhile, exited the tournament without a win, signing off with a 0-11 card, but the 47-point defeat was an added blow for KIA as it suffered its worst loss in franchise history.

Later in the night, Meralco strengthened its bid for a top two finish after holding off GlobalPort, 100-93.

The Bolts tied Ginebra at the top of the ladder at 8-2 while the Batang Pier, who are already out of the playoffs, ended their conference with a 3-8 slate.

Star used a huge second quarter to put the game away, overpowering KIA there, 33-12, to take a 65-36 lead going into the halftime break.

Coach Chito Victolero, however, downplayed the Hotshots’ dominating performance, saying things just fell into place against the Picanto.

“Actually those kinds of things just happen,” said Victolero, who once served as coach for the KIA franchise. “We had a good mindset and we played together as a team. Both the offense and defense were rolling tonight.”

“We needed this game very badly in order for us to have a slim chance for the top four and we knew KIA wouldn’t give this game that easily.”

Kristoffer Acox led the Hotshots with 19 points and 15 rebounds.