Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — The GlobalPort Batang Pier snagged the last ticket to the Top 4 with the twice-to-beat advantage, outlasting the Alaska Aces in overtime, 117-104, Tuesday night in the penultimate elimination round game of the PBA Governors' Cup. GlobalPort thus finished with a 7-4 win-loss slate to earn the No. 4 slot in the final standings. The Aces and the San Miguel Beermen both wound up with an 8-3 card but Alaska still got the No. 1 seeding by virtue of its 82-77 win over SMB last Saturday. SMB settled for the second seeding while Rain or Shine (7-4) took the third spot. Jarrid Famous had a field day as Alaska head coach Alex Compton decided to bench his import counterpart Romeo Travis for the duration of the second half and the extension period. As a result, Famous put up monstrous numbers of 34 points and 26 rebounds, leading GlobalPort to its best elimination round finish since it joined the league in 2012. Stanley Pringle scored a personal conference-high 24 points on top of eight assists while Asian import Omar Krayem dished out 20 markers for GlobalPort. With Famous, Pringle and Krayem torching the net, GlobalPort had the luxury of resting its top gunner Terrence Romeo for long stretches in the second half. Romeo still finished with 14 points, 10 of them scored in the last two minutes of the overtime period when he swished in back-to-back three-pointers and a couple of drives to the basket. Cyrus Baguio led Alaska with 20 points while Travis added 13 markers and 10 rebounds. Chris Banchero and Eric Menk added 10 apiece. Star 87, Blackwater 82 The Star Hotshots had to go all-out for the win before quashing a spirited challenge by last-place finisher Blackwater Elite, 87-82, to finish their elimination round campaign with a 6-5 slate, clinching the fifth seed and a quarterfinals pairing against the GlobalPort Batang Pier who enjoy a twice-to-beat edge. Blackwater bowed out of the season with a 1-9 card, with its only win courtesy of the Barangay Ginebra Kings who still nurse a slim chance of entering the playoffs. Marqus Blakely was the hottest of the Hotshots, filling up the stats sheet with 22 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, seven steals and four blocks. Five other Hotshots scored in double digits. Alex Mallari and Joe Devance scored 12 apiece, PJ Simon chipped in with 11 while James Yap and Mark Barroca added 10 each. The Elite appeared to be in control of the match in the first half, leading by as many as 11 points in the second quarter. But the Hotshots outscored their rivals 28-18 in the third quarter before unleashing a 14-5 run at the start of the fourth quarter to take a 81-69 lead. The Elite came charging back, cutting the deficit to just four points, before the Hotshots finally finished them off with a flurry of shots. Games Wednesday: Kia Carnival vs. Meralco Bolts; and NLEX Road Warriors vs. Barangay Ginebra Kings.
