OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: Despite fatigue factor, expect a wild and thorny race in the PH Cup round of 8
By Eddie Alinea of The Manila Times
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 08 Nov 2020
The PBA made history when the country’s pioneering play-for-pay league resumed action last November 3 with a first four-game following cancellation of eight matchups, including a triple bill brought about by suspicions of a referee and a player having found positive of Covid 19.
The suspicions turned false after subsequent testing, but that led the league to change its schedule aimed at meeting its self-imposed the timeline of November 11 to end the elimination round of the on-going Philippine Cup bubble.
The new schedule includes, not only one, but and four playing days with a four-game bill each on November 6, November 8 and that of the elimination round ending November 11.
The new schedule, likewise, features morning games, a first, too, in the league’s 45-year history and back-to-back outings for eight of the 12-team field with Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok and the Meralco Bolts having the most number playing two straight days with three each.
Defending champion San Miguel Beer has a pair of back-to-back assignments in as many playing days and so have sister team Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, who emerged the new league-leaders, erstwhile pace-setting Talk ‘N Text, Blackwater and TerraFirma.
It wasn’t surprising, therefore, that in last Thursday’s quadrupleheader, all eight teams that’s saw action—Blackwater against TerraFirma, Alaska against NorthPort Batang Pier, the Beermen versus NLEX Road and the Kings against the Tropang Giga could hardly move due to fatigue.
That didn’t stop, though, the Kings of Barangay Ginebra to exact an 85-79 squeaker over Tropang Giga, who they disposed of as league-leader besides scoring their third straight win since resumption and seventh overall.
The Road Warriors waylaid the visibly tired, short-handed Beermen, who have been playing without their main man June Mar Fajardo and scoring ace Terence Romeo, in a whooping 124-90 outclassing for their third consecutive triumph to advance to ninth place from nowhere at the bottom of the standing.
TNT, on the other hand, fell to its second consecutive loss and skidded to no. 2 with a 6-3 card in a tie with idle Phoenix Super LPG, still within reach the coveted top four finish rewards a twice-to-beat incentive in the succeeding quarterfinal round.
TerraFirma finally entered the win column by taking a morale-boosting 110-101 decision over slumping Blackwater.
Going into the final six days of the qualifying, everything hasn’t yet lost to all the remaining hopefuls for a seat in the Final 8 – Alaska (6-4, Meralco 5-3, SMB (5-4), Rain or Shine (4-3), Magnolia (4-4) , NLEX (4-5) and even the lowly Blackwater (2-6), NorthPort and TerraFioma (tied at 1-7) still entertaining hopes of making it.
Thus, assuring fans of another wild and wooly affair comes the race for the semifinals slots.
Meanwhile, Japeth Aguilar’s block of a Poy Erram‘s attempt at the 6:25 mark of the third quarter entered the record book as his 600th of his career.
The high-leaping Ginebra power-forward, thus, became the only the 12th player to reach the milestone and only the second active campaigner outside of SMB’s Arwind Santos.
That the Tropang Giga were victims of fatigue was exemplified by Troy Rosario's zero offensive effort set against the Gin Kings in what emerged a PBA record for most shots taken without making a single field goal, according to league statistician Fidel Mangonon.
TNT only scored 10 points on 4-for-37 shooting in the first quarter as all of coach Bong Ravena’s boys missed all 17 threes attempted in that period.
Erram was Katropa in the third period to make a basket after going 6-for-8 and had 13 during that span; the rest of his teammates were 0-for-15, though the team did make 13-for-13 free throws to make it a close game.
The Beermen’s sharp-shooting no. 2 guard Marcio Lassiter did not play against NLEX due to a calf strain. The Road Warriors, meanwhile outrebounded the title-defending Beermen, 62-31.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea of The Manila Times.
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