ONE side of the PBA Philippine Cup Final Four will be a rematch of the TNT-Rain or Shine Governors' Cup semifinal clash.
Both the Tropang 5G and the Elasto Painters pulled off reversals versus their higher-ranked twice-to-beat quarterfinals foes in the Magnolia Hotshots and the NLEX Road Warriors, respectively, Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium and thus arranging an intriguing best-of-seven semis faceoff between the sixth seed and the seventh seed.
After TNT eked out an 80-79 thriller of a clincher versus the Hotshots, ROS scored its own twin kill versus the Road Warriors with a come-from-behind 103-92 victory to complete the Final Four cast in the season-ending all-Filipino tourney.
And so it's San Miguel Beer versus Barangay Ginebra and TNT opposite Rain or Shine in the best-of-seven semifinals that begin Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Leonard Santillan, Andrei Caracut, Jhonard Clarito, Anton Asistio and Mike Malonzo all put in double-digit outputs in a balanced ROS scoring that negated the impact of Robert Bolick's 34-point explosion for NLEX.
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More importantly, the Elasto Painters struck hardest at winning time, pounding the Road Warriors, 25-15, in the payoff period to win the match that also completed the franchise's entry in each semis of the three conferences in PBA Season 49.
In dispatching the Road Warriors, the E-Painters will be the roadblock the Tropang 5G will have to hurdle in pursuit of their grand slam aspiration.
ROS coach Yeng Guiao said they love the matchup and they will certainly pursue their own bid.
Santillan top scored for the team with 24 points and added nine rebounds, Caracut was the second leading scorer with 16 markers while Clarito had another hulking performance with 13 points and 16 rebounds as they scored a follow-up on their 92-89 decision on Wednesday.
Clutch performers abound for ROS in this contest with Asistio chipping in 11 markers, including two four-balls and Malonzo making his presence felt with 10 markers, including crucial buckets helping seal the victory.
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Gian Mamuyac and Caelan Tiongson contributed nine and eight points, respectively, for ROS which actually played catch-up basketball most of the way but showed much patience and resilience until finding the opening to seize control at the finish.
They grabbed the lead, 78-77, at the end of the third and pushed their drive to enjoy a lead as big as 14 midway through the fourth.(SB)
The scores:
Rain or Shine 103 - Santillan 24, Caracut 16, Clarito 13, Asistio 11, Malonzo 10, Mamuyac 9, Tiongson 8, Nocum 5, Norwood 4, Porter 3, Datu 0.
NLEX 92 - Bolick 34, Bahio 11, Ramirez 10, Mocon 9, Fajardo 7, Semerad 6, Policarpio 5, Torres 4, Nieto 2, Valdez 2, Alas 2.
Quarterscores: 21-27, 52-55, 78-77, 103-92
