PBA: Bolts send Kings on the brink

Manila, Philippines – Import Jarrid Famous delivered a monster performance with 30 points and 37 rebounds as Globalport closed in on securing a playoff berth with a 102-94 victory over Kia last night in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The 6-foot-9 Famous showed his intense demeanor right from the onset to power the Batang Pier to their sixth win in 10 games while producing the third-highest rebounding output in a single game.

Famous fell eight boards shy of tying the all-time mark of 45 set by Michael Hackett of Ginebra on Nov. 21, 1985, the same day he tallied a then-record 103 points against Great Taste.

Billy Robinson is second on the all-time list when he grabbed 40 boards for Mariwasa in 1976.

He also had significant support from guard Terrence Romeo, who scored 13 of his 27 points in the payoff period that put Globalport in solo fourth spot.

Romeo sparked a 16-2 run with two triples, turning a slim 78-77 lead into a 94-79 advantage with 2:20 left to play.

Teammate Stanley Pringle capped off that run with a nifty behind the back pass to Doug Kramer for an easy basket.

Kia tried to make a comeback when import Hamady N’Diaye, Karl Dehesa and JR Buensuceso narrowed the gap to 96-90 with under a minute left.

But Romeo slammed the door on the Carnival with a crossover dribble on Asian import Jet Chang followed by a three-pointer that made it 99-90 with 29 ticks remaining.

“Simple lang, total team effort. Mga players gusto manalo para sa twice-to-beat,” said Globalport coach Pido Jarencio, whose team in on the verge of completing its best conference since joining the pro ranks in 2012.

“Galing kami sa hard game (versus NLEX), one day preparation lang kami. Hindi kami sanay na dalawang sunod na laro, kaya maganda din para masanay kami na halos sunud sunod laro dahil sa quarterfinals ganun,” added Jarencio.

Kia dropped to an even 4-4 record despite 29 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks from N’Diaye.

In the second game, Meralco survived a comeback by Ginebra San Miguel as it hammered a 102-99 victory that improved the Bolts’ record to 5-4 while pushing the Kings on the brink of elimination with a 3-5 card.

Import Andre Emmett collected 34 points, including a key layup with 32.9 seconds left, while Jared Dillinger, Reynel Hugnatan and Asian reinforcement Seiya Ando of Japan contributed 12 points apiece.

Scores:
GLOBALPORT 102 – Famous 30, Romeo 27, Pringle 10, Buenafe 9, Kramer 9, Krayem 7, Semerad 5, Mamaril 3, Miranda 2, Hayes 0, Isip 0, Jensen 0.

KIA 94 – N’Diaye 29, Dehesa 20, Webb 15, Chang 11, Bagat-sing 8, Revilla 6, Buensuceso 3, Deutchman 1, Nuyles 1, Thiele 0, Ighalo 0, Alvarez 0, Avenido 0.

Quarters: 27-29; 50-47; 76-71; 102-94.

Second Game:
MERALCO 102 – Emmett 34, Dillinger 12, Ando 12, Hugnatan 12, David 10, Hodge 7, Cortez 6, Nabong 4, Ildefonso 3, Anthony 2, Caram 0.

GINEBRA 99 – Johnson 25, Slaughter 21, Aguilar 18, Mercado 13, Kim 12, Tenorio 10, Urbiztondo 0, Pena 0, Marcelo 0, Brondial 0.

Quarters: 23-28, 50-48, 75-80, 102-99.