MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings blasted their way into the quarterfinals, smashing the also-rans NLEX Road Warriors with a 90-80 victory on Sunday night in the penultimate elimination round game of the PBA Philippine Cup. LA Tenorio exploded for a career-high 30 points on top of nine rebounds, and four assists, while Scottie Thompson again nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, nine assists, and eight boards. The backcourt duo sparked an uprising that saw the Kings erasing a 17-point deficit in the second quarter and then pulling away for good in the third period. Joe Devance was also a huge factor in the Ginebra win, finishing with 19 points, eight boards, and six assists, on top of one block in 33 minutes. Sol Mercado added 13 markers. After missing his team's last game due to an elbow injury, leading Ginebra scorer and rebounder Japeth Aguilar could only produce seven points, nine boards, and six blocks in 36 minutes. Ginebra thus finished the eliminations with a 6-5 win-loss mark. Aside from San Miguel Beer, which is already assured of the top seed, the seven other quarterfinals slot will only be known after the last elimination round games on Wednesday. The Road Warriors ended up as the last place finisher in the conference after absorbing its fourth straight loss and ninth overall in 11 games. Kevin Alas and Rico Villanueva led the Road Warriors with 14 points apiece that all went down the drain. GlobalPort 117, Rain or Shine 99 Terrence Romeo played his most explosive game yet, banging in 44 banging in 44 huge points to power the GlobalPort Batang Pier to a 117-99 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. The league's scoring leader was blazing hot from long range, firing 8-of-15 from beyond the arc. He also tallied six boards and six assists. Romeo's backcourt partner Stanley Pringle was also on fire, finishing with 28 points, six rebounds, and five assists. JR Quinahan added 11 markers for GlobalPort on top of three boards, two steals, one block, and one steal in a match against his former team. The Batang Pier were also as effective on the defensive end, limiting the Painters to just 39 percent shooting from the field. GlobalPort's defense was at its toughest in the third quarter where they outscored the Painters, 25-15, pulling away from a close game. GlobalPort thus assured itself of a slot in the quarterfinals as it finished the elims with a 6-5 record, in a four-way tie for fourth to seventh place with TNT, Phoenix, and Ginebra. Those teams plus San Miguel Beer (10-1), Alaska (6-4) and Star (6-4) have also qualified for the quarterfinals. Rain or Shine suffered its third straight loss and fifth overall in 10 games, thus making its last elimination round game against Alaska (6-4) on Wednesday a must-win to qualify for the playoffs. A loss will send the Painters into a knockout match against Blackwater Elite (5-6) for the last ticket to the quarterfinals. Jeff Chan led Rain or Shine with 26 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Jay Washington had 11 markers and five boards. Games on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017: Star Hotshots (6-4) vs. Mahindra Floodbuster (3-7) and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5-5) vs. Alaska Aces (6-4).
