UNANG SEMIS BERTH SA DRAGONS

Mga laro ngayon:
(Philsports Arena)
4:30 p.m. – Ginebra vs NorthPort
6:45 p.m. – San Miguel vs Converge

MULING nadominahan ng Bay Area ang Rain or Shine, 126-96, upang agad na tapusin ang kanilang quarterfinals duel at kunin ang unang semifinals berth sa PBA Commissioner’s Cup kahapon sa PhilSports Arena.

Nagbuhos si Hayden Blankley ng career-high 47 points bukod sa 10 rebounds habang nagpasabog si Andrew Nicholson ng 32 at 8 sa loob lamang ng tatlong quarters para sa top-seeded Dragons na hindi sinayang ang kanilang win-once advantage kontra eighth-ranked Elasto Painters.

Sa panalo ay agad umusad ang Bay Area sa best-of-five semifinals kung saan makakaharap nito ang magwawagi sa San Miguel Beer at Converge.

Naniniwala si Dragons coach Brian Goorjian na ang Beermen ang susunod nilang makakasagupa at sinabing sabik na silang makalaban ang defending champion.

“This is not the same San Miguel team that we saw in the regular season with (Terrence) Romeo in the team now, the big fellow (June Mar Fajardo) back and their overall depth. It’s gonna be a real challenge for us,” sabi ni Goorjian.

“I’m just so excited that we’re in the top four of the PBA in our first year,” dagdag ni Goorjian. “Tremendous accomplishment and we get to step up to the plate and get a swing at the champs. Couldn’t ask for more.”

Sa pagkatalo ay nabigo ang Rain or Shine na mapahaba ang kanilang unang playoffs stint sa huling tatlong conferences makaraang hindi masolusyunan ang height advantage ng Bay Area at ang mas accurate shooting mula sa field.

“Respect to Rain or Shine. (But) we shot the hell out of the ball tonight. They were competitive and they played us tough. The coach’s gameplan was very, very good,” ani Goorjian.

Naipasok ng Bay Area ang 46 sa 83 attempts mula sa field, kabilang ang 21-of-41 mula sa three-point line. Ang Dragons ay plus-16 din sa inside points kasunod ng 55-35 advantage mula sa boards.

Bagaman hindi naglaro sa final period, nanguna pa rin si Rey Nambatac para sa Rain or Shine na maty 19 points. Nagdagdag si Ryan Pearson ng 15 points at tumipa sina Andrei Caracut at Mike Nieto ng tig-points. CLYDE MARIANO

Iskor:
Bay Area (126) – Blankley 47, Nicholson 32, Yang 13, Zhu 9, Song 6, Zheng 5, Lam 5, Liu 4, Ewing 3, Reid 2, Si 0, Ju 0, Zhang 0.
Rain or Shine (96) – Nambatac 19, Pearson 15, Caracut 12, Nieto 12, Asistio 9, Mamuyac 8, Clarito 7, Santillan 7, Belga 3, Ponferrada 1, Norwood 0, Guinto 0, Ildefonso 0, Torres 0.
QS: 27-16, 60-44, 92-68, 126-96.