HONG Kong Eastern stormed past Terrafirma, 134-110, Friday at the PhilSports Arena to clinch a quarterfinals spot in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
The early exit of import Chris McLaughlin due to a knee injury would stymie the guest team's bid, but only in the first half as it steadily picked up momentum from late in the third quarter on to win with plenty to spare.
With the victory, its seventh in 10 games, Eastern not only tied the record of idle NorthPort and Converge but also towed the two to the last eight as the other bidders for the remaining quarterfinals seats could only get six wins at most.
For coach Mensur Bajramovic, a lot of work remains for his side as they now set their sights on a top two finish in the 12-game eliminations that carries with it a win-once advantage over a lower-ranked team in the playoffs' first round.
"For now, we are still looking at the playoffs for the first two spots," said the Bosnian national in his halting English during the post-game presser.
Sponsored content:
"Many teams have three losses so we need to win all three games until the end and see how other games (play out for us) to get the first two spots."
Terrafirma suffered an 11th loss in as many games after failing to sustain its gallant showing for majority of the game that had its sixth and last deadlock at 79-all, only 2:22 left in the third period.
Then Eastern started to really pour it on, using a 10-0 run to end the quarter before Ramon Cao and Kobey Lam led a fiery fourth frame in which they outscored the Dyip, 45-31, while posting as much as a 131-102 spread.
Bajramovic said the halftime talk he had with his players was a big factor. "Tonight, game started actually after first 24 minutes of action since the first half we were not giving energy... the first (half) wasn't on the level we need for a win," he pointed out.
"So we have a meeting in the locker room and my players came a little bit better on the beginning and then we finished the game," added Bajramovic.
Sponsored content:
Cao led the onslaught with 23 points anchored on four triples while Lam also scored 12, like Cao, of his points in the fourth canto before winding up with 20 points and 10 assists.
Steven Guinchard scored 20 points, 17 of them coming in the second period that broke Eastern out of a 24-all count and propped it to a 57-53 halftime lead, while Hayden Blankley, Hao Zhu and Yuet Yeung Pok each had at least 11 points.
Brandon Edwards posted gamehighs of 26 points and 17 rebounds, with Aljun Melecio finishing with 17 points, 10 coming of those coming in the fourth.
Stanley Pringle flirted with a triple double with 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Louie Sangalang had 13 points and Kevin Ferrer 12 for Terrafirma, which winds up its campaign against TNT on Wednesday. (NC)
The Scores :
EASTERN 134 - Cao 23, Blankley 23, Lam 20, Guinchard 20, Zhu 13, Pok 11, Leung 9, Yang 7, Chan 6, Xu 4, Cheung 3, McLaughlin 2.
TERRAFIRMA 110 - Edwards 26, Melecio 17, Pringle 16, Sangalang 13, Ferrer 12, Carino 9, Romeo 8, Paraiso 3, Hernandez 3, Manuel 2, Catapusan 1, Nony 0.
QUARTERS : 24-24, 57-53, 88-79, 134-110
