MANILA — In a game resembling a do-or-die battle, the defending champion Star Hotshots proved to be the tougher team, hacking out an 89-82 victory over sister squad Barangay Ginebra Kings Sunday night at the jampacked Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Steadily rising from the bottom of the pack with its second straight win, Star improved to a 3-4 win-loss card to forge a three-way tie for seventh to ninth place with Rain or Shine and Talk N Text. Ginebra fell to solo 10th place with its fifth loss in eight outings, dimming its hopes of qualifying for the playoffs with only three games left in its schedule. Only the top eight teams after the elimination round will enter the playoffs. Joe Devance was the hottest among the Hotshots Sunday, top-scoring for his team with 26 points on top of eight boards. Import Marqus Blakely was the other big scorer for Star with 19 points and the same number of rebounds. Mark Barroca added 12 markers. The Hotshots played with the kind of toughness necessary to stay alive, erecting a 19-point lead in the first half. The Kings, equally determined to win, made a huge run in the third quarter to grab the driver's seat. But the Hotshots regained the momentum in the fourth quarter with a sizzling 14-1 run to pull away by 14 points, 78-64, nearing the endgame. The Kings refused to wilt, scoring seven straight points to cut Star's lead, 78-71. Ginebra further trimmed the deficit to just four, 83-79, with 1:13 left. But Star's Alex Mallari drove to the basket for an easy layup, and then Blakely split his free throws to pad Star's lead to 86-79. The Kings once again cut the Hotshots' lead to four, 86-82, but with only 19 seconds left, they were forced to foul, resulting to three straight Star free throws before the final buzzer sounded. Import Orlando Johnson led the Kings with 35 points and 11 rebounds. Japeth Aguilar was the only other double-digit scorer for Ginebra with 18 points and nine boards. Barako Bull 123, GlobalPort 114 With import Liam McMorrow showing the way, the surprising Barako Bull Energy rampaged to their sixth victory in seven games, crushing the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 123-114. The victory kept the Energy all alone at the top of the standings. McMorrow, the tireless and athletic 7'2” import from Canada, once again dominated both ends of the court, posting 41 points and 27 reboundfs. Joseph Yeo chipped in 19 points and 10 assists. Import Jarrid Famous led GlobalPort with 32 points and 22 rebounds. Top gunner Terrence Romeo finished with 30 points. However, the duo's combined firepower was still not enough to prevent GlobalPort from sliding to solo fifth spot with an even 4-4 win loss record. Game Tuesday: Meralco Bolts vs. Alaska Aces and Talk N Text Tropang Texters vs. San Miguel Beermen.
