Star's Marqus Blakely drives hard to the basket pursued by GlobalPort's Keith Jensen (L) and Stanley Pringle in Sunday night's PBA Governors' Cup knockout quarterfinals match at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette
MANILA — The defending champions Star Hotshots lost an early 21-point lead but regained their fiery form in the endgame to hack out a 101-94 win over the GlobalPort Batang Pier on Sunday night in the PBA Governors' Cup knockout quarterfinals match. The fifth-seeded Hotshots thus kept their title-retention hopes alive as they advanced to the best-of-five semifinals against the top-seeded Alaska Aces. The win followed Star's 126-73 blowout win Friday against the fourth-seeded GlobalPort with the twice-to-beat advantage, paving the way for Sunday's do-or-die match. Star thus became only the eighth team in PBA history to overcome a twice-to-win disadvantage against a higher-seeded squad in the playoffs. Two-time Best Import awardee Marqus Blakely showed his credentials anew, posting a triple double of 15 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists. The do-it-all Star reinforcement also had four steals and three blocks. Four other Hotshots scored in double digits with Alex Mallari and James Yap finishing with 17 points apiece, Peter June Simon had 14 while Joe Devance added 13 markers. The Hotshots appeared to be on their way to reprise their earlier rout of the Batang Pier as they erected a 39-18 lead early in the second quarter. But this time around, the Batang Pier put up a valiant fight led by their import Jarrid Famous who finished the half with 22 points. GlobalPort's Terrence Romeo then banged in five straight points including a booming triple cut the Hotshots' lead to nine, 49-40, at halftime. It was Stanley Pringle's turn to shine for the Batang Pier in the third quarter as he scored 10 points in that period, including a layup nearing the end of the quarter that allowed GlobalPort to grab the lead, 65-64, for the first time. But Devance strung four straight points and then Justin Melton pulled up for a jumper as the Hotshots regained momentum with a 70-65 lead entering the final quarter. The Batang Pier gamely fought, knotting the count at 74-all after another Romeo three-pointer. But the Hotshots responded with a 15-3 run capped by James Yap three-pointer. That proved to be the turning point in the game as the inexperienced Batang Pier collapsed on a series of defensive lapses and hurried offensive forays that got them nowhere. Famous finished with 38 points for GlobalPort while Pringle and Romeo added 16 and 15, respectively. Game Monday: San Miguel Beermen vs. Meralco Bolts (quarterfinals knockout match).
