CHICAGO --It was good while it lasted, teasing our emotions with what would have been a rare but wickedly pleasant occurrence where Blackwater makes it to the playoffs.
In the end, though, it was too good to be true.
NLEX's 103-99 overtime victory over Ginebra on Sunday night at the Big Dome murdered two birds with one stone. It eliminated the Bossing from the postseason and prevented the 6-4 Kings from stealing the No.1 seed in Pool A from 7-2 Rain or Shine.
READ: NLEX takes last quarterfinals spot by beating Ginebra in OT
Although Blackwater can still match the 5-5 record of NLEX with a win over the Elasto Painters tomorrow, the Road Warriors will still advance by virtue of a better quotient that determines how a potential tie can be broken.
George King proved to be a terrific reinforcement but his singular brilliance couldn't undo two crucial factors that ultimately sabotaged Blackwater's ill-fated Governors' Cup campaign.
BAD START LEADS TO BAD ENDING.
They started 0-2 because of an underwhelming effort from their first import, Ricky Ledo. And they underperformed, at the worst possible time, last September 15 when the Bossing lost to then 0-7 Phoenix.
Suddenly, sadly, George King has no kingdom to conquer.
Meanwhile, there is joy and relief over at NLEX.
With Blackwater nipping at their heels for that last ticket to the Big Dance, the Road Warriors came through with their biggest win of the conference, outlasting Justin Brownlee and company in overtime, 103-99.
DeQuan Jones, Myke Henry's import replacement, proved to be a dose of adrenaline with an uplifting performance that netted 44 points and 10 rebounds.
SEMERAD SHINES.
But it was Anthony Semerad whose four triples, including a back-breaker late in OT, who saved the day just in time when Ginebra was plotting one of its legendary come-from-behind wins.
Ginebra gave the opportunity to grab the No.1 seed a mighty swing but couldn't pull it off after hitting just 32-of-75 from the field (42.1 percent) and 9-of-25 from 3 (36 percent).
Ginebra's guard play betrayed them as Stephen Holt and RJ Abarrientos combined to miss 17 of 23 shots while finishing only with 26 points and three assists between them. And it didn't help that Scottie Thompson only chipped in 12.
Tied at 6-4 with sister-team San Miguel, Ginebra's low quotient pushes them down to No.3 in Pool B, which means the league's most popular squad will face No.2 Meralco of Pool A in a best-of-five quarterfinals.
The Kings can beat anyone with their firepower as long as they have Brownlee, who exited with the game still on the line.
Hopefully, it's just a case of cramps after he logged 42 minutes and 48 seconds of action.
READ: Sigh of relief for Ginebra as Brownlee only grounded by cramps
Either way, how things played out Sunday wasn't exactly what coach Tim Cone had in mind.
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