MANILA, Philippines - The Star Hotshots have clinched a spot in the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs after holding off the Blackwater Elite, 102-89, Friday, December 18 at Araneta Coliseum.
PJ Simon was one of 5 Hotshots in double digits, scoring 26 points - including l1 in the first quarter - on 8-14 shooting (including 5 3-pointers). Allein Maliksi added 13, Marc Pingris contributed 12 while Alex Mallari and Mark Barroca both added 11.
Star, which did not make it past the semifinal rounds in any of the 2014-15 PBA season conferences following a Grand Slam championship, finishes the elimination round with a 4-7 record. Star had struggled at times in the first conference with Jason Webb as head coach, but will enter the playoffs as the eighth or ninth seed, with twice-to-win disadvantage.
Blackwater, which was led by 18 points from Carlo Lastimosa and 17 from Art Dela Cruz, drops to 2-8 and will face fellow sophomore squad the Mahindra Enforcers on Sunday at Smart-Araneta Coliseum, with the winner to determine which team earns the tenth and final playoff position.
The remainder of the Philippine Cup eliminations will be played out over the weekend, with Barako Bull facing Alaska and Rain or Shine facing NLEX on Saturday, and the Blackwater-Mahindra game coming before the Ginebra vs Talk ’N Text game on Sunday.
Scores:
Star 102 - Simon 26, Maliksi 13, Pingris 12, Barroca 11, Mallari 11, Taha 8, Yap 6, Melton 4, Sangalang 4, Reavis 3, Cruz 2, Torres 2.
Blackwater 89 - Lastimosa 18, Dela Cruz 17, Gamalinda 11, Cortez 10, Erram 10, Cervantes 9, Golla 8, Reyes 6, Ballesteros 0, Canada 0, Melano 0.
Quarter scores: 25-25, 52-42, 78-72, 102-89.– Rappler.com