By Adrian Stewart Co
NorthPort Batang Pier cruised to the semifinals of the 2019 PBA Governor’s Cup after a 126-123 win over NLEX Road Warriors in the do-or-die quarterfinals on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Sean Anthony drained the go-ahead shot, Christian Standhardinger converted two free throws as the Batang Pier became the fourth no. 8 seed team in the league history to topple a no. 1 ranked squad to reach the semifinals round.
Standhardinger finished the match with 33 points and 23 rebounds, Michael Qualls added 31 markers and 21 boards as Anthony contributed 30 and 11 as the Batang Pier reached the semifinals for the second time in franchise history.
The Road Warriors dictated the tempo of the match and were on top by 10 points in the fourth period but the Batang Pier rallied back behind Qualls, Standhardinger and Anthony for 99-all score after the regulation.
In the first overtime (OT), the Batang Pier went ahead 107-103 on five straight points by Anthony but a three-point play by Road Warriors’ Manny Harris and two free throws by Jericho Cruz send the game to second OT.
In the second extension, the game was tied at 113-all but NorthPort got the upperhand at 116-113 on a wide open triple by Kevin Ferrer but a triple by NLEX’s Philip Paniamogan pushed the game to third extension.
In the 3rd OT, the Road Warriors were ahead by one at 123-122 on back-to-back layups by Kiefer Ravena but a basket by Anthony and two freebies by Standhardinger clinched the win for the Batang Pier.
Harris finished with 43 points and 16 rebounds as Ravena contributed 22 markers but fumbled several times in the endgame as the Road Warriors bowed out of contention./ASC,WDJ