Magnolia sustains surge; Phoenix up

Still oozing with fire, Magnolia moved up to third overall in its bid for a top two finish even as Phoenix Pulse swept into quarterfinal contention with morale-boosting wins in the PBA 2019 Commissioner’s Cup eliminations.

The Hotshots roared to a fifth straight victory after a 0-2 start by turning back the Meralco Bolts, 99-88, in Zamboanga City Saturday after dealing the worst ever beating on San Miguel Beer with a 36-point rout (118-82) last Wednesday.

The Beermen, who went down by 33 (121-88) against NorthPort last June 5, just didn’t have the competitive fire in their first meeting against the Hotshots since their Game 7 title playoff win over their sister squad in the Philippine Cup last May which SMC clinched for a record fifth straight time.

Before the SMB debacle, Phoenix had slapped only a second loss on NorthPort with a 97-87 victory and followed this up last Friday with a huge upset of defending champion Barangay Ginebra, 111-103, despite the ejection of coach Louie Alas early in the last quarter for a second technical foul.

Alas was back on the Phoenix bench for only the second time since his two-game ban in the aftermath of a tumultuous game with TNT last June 2 that saw Fuel Master Calvin Abueva also getting an indefinite suspension.

The twin Phoenix wins were all the more remarkable since NorthPort and Ginebra had earlier boosted their lineups with a trade that saw Batang Pier top scorer Stanley Pringle going to the Gin Kings in exchange for three Kings— Sol Mercado, Kevin Ferrer and Jervy Cruz. Since the trade, NorthPort had beaten Blackwater, 127-99, and Ginebra had crushed NLEX, 100-85.

With less than three weeks left in the single round battle for eight quarterfinalists, TNT (7-1) and NorthPort (7-2) continue to show the way in the fight for the top two spots that will need just one win over the last two qualifiers to reach the semifinals.

Blackwater is now fourth at 5-3 behind Magnolia with Phoenix, Ginebra and Alaska tied for fifth to seventh at 4-4. Rain or Shine is in eighth at 3-4 with SMB ninth at 2-4. Bringing up the rear are Meralco (3-6), NLEX (2-7) and Columbian Dyip (1-6).

Despite Magnolia’s surge, NorthPort seems assured of landing at least No. 2 since its last two rivals are Columbian and Meralco.

As for SMB, it can still finish in the top five with wins over Columbian, NLEX, Phoenix, Rain or Shine and Meralco.