By JONAS TERRADO
Games Sunday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs Meralco
6:45 p.m. – NorthPort vs Ginebra
NorthPort and Rain or Shine fight for their dear lives against quarterfinal-bound teams already assured of the twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Governors’ Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Batang Pier take on Barangay Ginebra San Miguel at 6:45 p.m. while the Elasto Painters battle co-leader Meralco Bolts in the curtain raiser set at 4:30 p.m.
Expected to watch both matches intently are the Columbian Dyip, who finished the eliminations with a 4-7 record after their 113-90 loss to Ginebra last Friday at the Big Dome.
Columbian is banking on Ginebra to defeat NorthPort in order to gain at least a playoff for the eighth and final quarterfinals berth.
NorthPort is tied with Alaska at 4-6 while Rain or Shine still has a slim chance of forcing a playoff with its 3-7 card.
Alaska plays NLEX on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
NorthPort and Rain or Shine pulled off stunning upsets in their previous games to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive.
Import Michael Qualls, Christian Standhardinger and Sean Anthony put an end to NLEX’s five-game run with a 102-94 win last Wednesday.
Rain or Shine, on the other hand, stunned San Miguel Beer by eking out a 91-85 victory over San Miguel Beer last Nov. 9 in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
Their fancied rivals are hoping to end the eliminations on a winning note and gain some momentum before the quarterfinals kick off on Nov. 24.
Meralco downed NorthPort, 103-89, the previous Sunday in Antipolo City behind a career-high 30 points from backup guard Anjo Caram.
Ginebra secured the twice-to-beat against Columbian behind 10 points in the fourth quarter from Jeff Chan.
