Llamados, Gin Kings secure q’final berths

SISTER squads B-Meg and Barangay Ginebra pounded out contrasting victories over separate foes last night to seal places in the quarterfinals while staying on a collision course for an automatic Final Four slot in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

MARC Pingris (third from left) of B-Meg wraps an arm around Powerade center Doug Kramer’s neck as they battle for poss-ession in last night’s game. Tigers’ Rommel Adducul and Llamados import Denzel Bowles also get into the fray. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

The Llamados tripped Powerade in a wild and woolly finish, 96-94, and then the Gin Kings broke away in the third quarter to rip Barako Bull, 91-81, before a huge Sunday crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

B-Meg stayed in second spot with a 6-3 slate, while the Kings rose to 5-3 and could seal a KO match with the Llamados for No. 2 in the event defending champion Talk ‘N Text turns back Petron Blaze on Wednesday.

But Ginebra would still have to defeat Air21 also on Wednesday to end up tied with B-Meg.

In the event of a Talk ‘N Text loss to Petron Blaze, the Kings would also land in a playoff for an outright Final Four slot with the Texters with the Llamados bagging No. 1.

The Energy, who dropped to 4-5, could still find themselves in the quarterfinals outright if Ginebra defeats Air21, leaving Powerade and Meralco, who are at 4-5, battling it out for the last quarterfinal slot.

Should Air21 turn back the Kings on Wednesday, Powerade will make the playoffs outright with the Energy dropping into a playoff with Meralco for the sixth slot because of inferior quotients.

“The good thing is that our fate is in our hands,” Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen said. “It’s up to us to take care of business because Air21 will be a tough foe and Marcus Douthit remains a dominant import.”

Mark Caguioa scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, and the Kings peeled away from a 44-41 game at the half by holding the Energy scoreless in the first six minutes of the third period.

Jackson Vroman added 19 points and 13 rebounds and Mike Cortez had 12 points, 11 assists and seven boards in a tremendous effort starting out at the point guard spot.

The Llamados pulled through against the Tigers when league top scorer Gary David blew two free throws with 3.6 seconds left after Josh Urbiztondo had given B-Meg a 96-93 lead with 10.7 seconds remaining.

Fouled by Denzel Bowles while attempting a three-pointer, David, the league’s leading scorer, made only his second free throw. The Tigers still had a chance to force overtime when Sean Anthony grabbed David’s second free-throw miss but muffed his putback as time expired.

The B-Meg victory also booted out sister team Petron from further contention since it will have the worst quotient in the event of a tie with Powerade, the B-Boys and the Energy.

The Llamados gained control of the match in the third period after James Yap scored all but two of his 15 points in the period.

Yap presided over a dizzying stretch that had the Llamados taking 4-point bubbles.

David still topscored for Powerade with 25 points, but for the second straight game, missed critical charities in the stretch.

On Friday, David was also fouled while taking a triple try against Alaska, and he missed the third charity in the game which the Aces won, 102-100, in overtime.

The scores:

First Game

B-MEG 96—Bowles 29, Urbiztondo 15, Yap 15, Pingris 12, Simon 7, Intal 6, Reavis 4, De Ocampo 4, Barroca 2, Villanueva 2.

POWERADE 94—David 25, Lassiter 17, Jones 11, Anthony 11, Kramer 9, Casio 8, Antonio 5, Lingganay 3, Allera 2, Cruz 2, Adducul 1, Vanlandingham 0.

Quarters: 24-21, 46-43, 73-63, 96-94

Second Game

GINEBRA 91—Caguioa 25, Vroman 19, Cortez 12, Hatfield 10, Ababou 7, Wilson W. 6, Raymundo 6, Villanueva 4, Wilson J. 2, Labagala 0.

BARAKO 81—White 19, Miller 11, Seigle 11, Najorda 10, Tubid 8, Allado 8, Weinstein 5, Arboleda 5, Aquino 2, Pena 2, Pennisi 0.

Quarters: 20-20, 44-41, 70-55, 91-81

Should Air21 turn back the Kings on Wednesday, Powerade will make the playoffs outright with the Energy dropping into a playoff with Meralco for the sixth slot because of inferior quotients.