THE PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals cast is complete.
NLEX's 105-95 win over Phoenix officially ousted the only remaining team in contention at the lower half of the standings fighting for a playoffs berth.
Barangay Ginebra moved up in the upper half of the bracket at No. 4 by pulling off an 85-81 come-from-behind victory against Magnolia in the main game of Sunday’s doubleheader.
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The Kings improved to 6-3, while the loss sent the Hotshots reeling to their second loss in nine outings. They now share the top spot with the Road Warriors.
Phoenix fell to 2-7 with its fourth straight loss but has two more games to play in the season-ending conference.
Below are three takeaways from the Smart Araneta Coliseum twinbill.
1. NLEX HIT BY INJURIES – The Road Warriors utilized only nine players in the game against the Fuel Masters as five others are in the injury list: Dominic Fajardo, Mike Miranda, Richie Rodgers, Enoch Valdez, and Dave Marcelo. Stilll, NLEX was good enough to turn back Phoenix behind San Beda teammates Javee Mocon, Robert Bolick, and JB Bahio, who combined for 58 of the team’s 105 points. Another former Bedan, Anthony Semerad, added 14 in what was a red-letter day for the NLEX franchise.
2. MAV AHANMISI OUT FOR A WHILE WITH GINEBRA – the veteran guard has been out of action for the Kings for quite some time now with a sprained knee, but is expected to make a comeback in the playoffs. Ahanmisi is back in practice, but has not been doing any contact work.
3. WILLIAM NAVARRO-ZAV LUCERO REUNION AT MAGNOLIA – The big men duo are reunited after a short stint together at Northport – just a conference, to be exact, during the previous Philippine Cup as Lucero came off from an ACL surgery and missed the season-opening Commissioner’s Cup. Lucero was then traded to the Hotshots prior to the start of Season 49 for Jio Jalalon and Abu Tratter. Two conferences later, Navarro followed suit as he was dealt to the Purefoods franchise for Calvin Abueva, Jerrick Balanza, and a future second round pick. And so, in their first game back together, the two combined for 21 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-20 shooting from the floor. Too bad, Magnolia lost the game.
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