B-Meg beats Barako, sets playoff for automatic semis
MANILA, Philippines - B-Meg Derby Ace has set a date with San Miguel Beer for the last automatic semifinal seat after trouncing Barako Coffee, 106-100, Sunday night in the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Cliff Brown tallied a personal-high 43 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in his best game yet to power the Llamados to their 6th straight win and tie the Beermen at the number 2 slot with a 12-6 slate.
Derby Ace and San Miguel collide on Friday for the remaining automatic semis spot.
"We're doing a good job for the last 6 games. Unfortunately, it's not enough to secure us the number 2 seed," said Llamados head coach Ryan Gregorio.
James Yap added 18 points while Nino Canaleta and Roger Yap netted 13 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Llamados.
Sammy Monroe led the Coffee Masters with 37 points to go along with his 8 assists but Barako Coffee missed the next round of the tournament for the 4th straight conference.
The wards of coach Junel Baculi ended their campaign with a league worst 3-15.
Painters down Tigers
Rain or Shine forced a knockout match for the last automatic quarterfinals seat after pulling off a 101-90 demolition of Coca Cola to end its elimination phase with a 9-9 slate.
The Elasto Painters will meet Barangay Ginebra on Friday for the remaining quarterfinal slot.
Rod Nealy had another solid showing for Rain or Shine with 26 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists to follow up his 41-point explosion in their 113-111 thriller against Air 21 last game.
"The guys played their hearts out. We didn't rely on one guy on this game. It's really a total team effort," said Elasto Painters mentor Caloy Garcia who also got 17 markers from Solomon Mercado.
Gabe Norwood and Ryan Arana each had 13 markers for Rain or Shine while Tyrone Tang contributed 11 off the bench.
The win set up a do-or-die duel with the Kings, who are parading a new import in Chris Daniels.
"Despite losing their last few games, Ginebra is still one of the top teams in the league," said Garcia.
John Williamson led the Tigers with 23 points while Gary David added 16. Asi Taulava contributed 11 points and 18 rebounds for Coke, which was relegated to the wildcard stage against Sta. Lucia Realty.
Coke actually battled back from an 11-point deficit in the first half and even took a 78-77 lead on Williamson's split free throws with 9:48 left.
Neal and Mercado teamed up for a telling 12-2 run for an 89-80 advantage with 6:10 remaining.
The Tigers threatened at 84-89 but Arana, who sank the buzzer beater against the Express, stole a pass for a breakaway lay-up to seal the win for the Painters.
The league moved the playoff matches to Friday in deference to the inauguration of President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III on Wednesday, June 30.

