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Friday, March 29, 2024

Star routs Mahindra, seals quarterfinal cast

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STAR Hotshots handily beat Mahindra, 84-73, Wednesday night to formally complete the quarterfinal cast in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Hotshots, sensing the urgency of a victory, made short work of the Enforcers to clinch the final ticket to the next round, ending their elimination campaign with a 5-6 record.

Mahindra, on the other hand, failed to make its first-ever playoff stint and capped their elimination with a 4-7 card.

The win also gave Star its 15th straight playoff appearance, but this time, it will have a twice-to-beat disadvantage against either the top or second seeds.

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Ricardo Ratliffe once again provided the all-around performance for the Hotshots, finishing with a game-high 24 points and 16 rebounds.

But the biggest revelation of the night was rookie Mark Cruz, who stole the show in the second half after Mark Barroca was injured. Cruz chalked up a career-high 18 points, including an impressive 3-of-6 shooting from the three-point area and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line.

Ian Sangalang and Allein Maliksi were the only other Star players with double-digit performances, finishing with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Of course, nobody is happier than Hotshots’ coach Jason Webb, who sees the win as a fresh start after a shaky elimination run.

“Even if we’re in a twice-to-beat disadvantage, at least we’re there. We’re fighting, buhay pa kami,” said Webb after the game. “Let’s not forget about the God-given heart my guys have. Our concern is today, we live in the present. We’re lucky that today’s present was a gift. This league is so tough that you’re going to need to play your 10th, 11th guy on the floor.” 

The Hotshots were all business last night, with Ratliffe leading the charge in offense for a 43-36 cushion at the break.

But the Enforcers got their second wind in the third frame, slowly trimming the gap behind the efforts of Karl Dehesa and import Augustus Gilchrist to threaten to within two, 51-53, at the end of the third period.

Mahindra was able to tie the game at 57-all early in the payoff period, but it was then when Star suddenly exploded.

The Hotshots went on a crippling 14-1 run led by Ratliffe and Cruz, who was fouled shooting a three and made all of his free throws.

Sangalang followed that up with a bucket and Cruz struck again before Ratliffe finished with back-to-back buckets to push the difference to double digits, 68-57.

Dehesa made 1-for-3 from the stripe before Cruz capped the run with a big triple, 71-58.

Mahindra made one last run as they trimmed it down to six, 73-67, on an Aldrech Ramos three-pointer but Cruz made two more treys to seal the win.

Dehesa, Gilchrist and Ramos contributed 13 points apiece for Mahindra.

The scores:

Star (86) – Ratliffe 24, Cruz 18, Sangalang 12, Maliksi 11, Simon 8, Barroca 5, Melton 4, Pingris 3, Reavis 1, Pascual J. 0.

Mahindra (73) – Dehesa 13, Gilchrist 13, Ramos 13, Canaleta 8, Yee 7, Revilla 5, Elorde 4, Guinto 4, Aguilar 2, Bagatsing 2, Ballesteros 2, De Vera 0, Digregorio 0, Pinto 0.

Quarterscores: 32-21, 43-36, 53-51, 86-73.

Games tomorrow

 (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4:15 p.m. – NLEX vs. Alaska

7 p.m. – San Miguel vs. 

Talk N Text

 

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