IN A must-win situation, San Miguel Beer once again stepped up to the plate, routing GlobalPort, 112-101, to ensure a favorable finish in the penultimate game of the elimination round of the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Charles Rhodes had one of his best games of the tournament, scoring a game-high 34 points, on 13-of-19 shooting, to show the way for the Beermen.
With the win, San Miguel finished at 9-2 and it guaranteed itself with of a Top 2 finish and a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
Now, the Beermen have to wait for the result of the final game of the eliminations to know if they will be No. 1 or No. 2.
Barangay Ginebra (8-2) is looking to finish as the top seed as it is currently battling Mahindra (3-7) as of this report.
A fourth straight victory for the Gin Kings will earn them the top seed and a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
If it loses, it will fall to No. 3 and Star and San Miguel will be No. 1 and 2 with the Beermen being the top seed.
Despite the loss, all is not lost for GlobalPort as it will still have the chance to make the quarters.
The Batang Pier will now figure in a playoff for the No. 8 seed and the last ticket in the next phase against either Alaska or Phoenix, depending on the result of the final game as well, tomorrow.
Knowing the importance of the game, the Beermen came out swinging. They started the game on a 12-0 blast to take control right away.
From there, they methodically handled the Batang Pier and led by double-digits for most of the way before sealing the victory.
Justin Harper led GlobalPort with 25 points.
The quarterfinals start on Monday.
