POWERADE and Barako Bull try to stay in the running for the last PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal spot when they square off on Tuesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tigers have lost their last three games, including a heartbreaking 110-98 overtime defeat at the hands of B-Meg last Saturday in Legazpi City, Albay that left their semifinal hopes hanging by a thread.
They were given a new lease on life when the Energy edged Meralco, 81-79, on Sunday, forging a three-way tie at 4-5 with the Tigers and Bolts and prompting a playoff to determine the last semifinal entrant.
The Bolts, getting a bye for having the highest quotient among the three squads, face the winner between the Energy and Tigers on Wednesday.
Barako Bull could have earned the bye had it won by five points over Meralco, but it settled for a two-point win after blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter advantage.
The Barako Bull-Powerade game is set 6:45 p.m. and one aspect the Energy could work on is the turnovers — they luckily hung on to win despite committing 23 errors compared to just 14 by the Bolts.
“We have to lower it, but we have to lower the percentages of Powerade first,” said Energy coach Junel Baculi, who expects A-games from Leroy Hickerson, Danny Seigle, Willie Miller and Ronald Tubid.
The Tigers seemed on track for an outright berth in the next round when they started the season-ending conference with a 4-2 win-loss record. But they have lost steam in the most crucial phase of the tournament.
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