Ginebra, Petron scrape into Gov.’s Cup semis

Barangay Ginebra and Petron Blaze eked out contrasting victories Friday night to barge into the semifinal round of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
And ironic as it may sound, their wins put idle sister team B-Meg into a must-win situation today.
The Gin Kings blew a 15-point third quarter lead before regaining their wits in the fourth to pull away from Barako Bull and post a 102-91 triumph, while the Boosters got more than what they bargained for from out-of-it-all Air21 before pulling out a 98-97 squeaker at the Araneta Coliseum.
With both improving to 5-4, Ginebra and Petron left the Llamados no choice but to win against Powerade on Saturday in Legazpi City, since a loss, coupled by a Meralco win over the Energy on Sunday, would put B-Meg in a playoff with the Bolts for the sixth and last semifinal slot.
Obviously, coaches of Ginebra and Petron both wanted to win to assure their respective advance, with the Gin Kings getting six crucial points from import Cedric Bozeman in the fourth quarter to hold off the Energy.
What was surprising last night was the gritty stand that the Express put up, with the Boosters getting the win only after Alex Cabagnot split the lane to nail a looping left-handed layup over two defenders.
Ginebra and Petron will carry their records over to the playoffs, and Siot Tanquingcen of the Kings and Ato Agustin of the Boosters are both eager to fine-tune their respective squads for the tougher grind that lies ahead.
“It’s good that we’re in (the playoffs now),” Tanquingcen said. “(Now) we have to find a way to play in a consistent level, consistent meaning that we need to win consecutive games (in the playoffs).” Bozeman had 28 points, counting a three-point play and a three-point shot that held off the Energy in the stretch as Barako Bull, after lagging behind by 15 in the third, even took a an 81-80 lead with 6:50 left after a Leroy Hickerson basket.
Barako Bull was paced by Hickerson’s 21 points, but he had a crucial traveling violation with under three minutes left that partly aided Ginebra’s victory.
It was the third straight setback for Barako Bull, which dropped to 3-5, but the Energy still have a chance.
Barako Bull is still in the hunt, provided that B-Meg does prevail and the Energy turn back Meralco Sunday night.
In that case, all three teams will be left with 4-5 records and would figure in a playoff to determine the final semifinalist.
Petron got 23 points from Jay Washington, 18 from rookie Chris Lutz, 16 from Arwind Santos and 13 from Cabagnot, who bailed the squad out of the fire once again on a night it couldn’t finish off the lowly Express.
“It’s still a win, but it can’t happen against a team that was playing for nothing,” Agustin told reporters later. “We were just lucky. We need to get back to the drawing board and see what’s wrong with the team.
“We need to adjust because we simply cannot break away in the end game.” Agustin’s troubles do not end there, with Petron shopping around for a replacement for the injured Eddie Basden, a highly-touted import who has keen problems.
Basden scored just seven points in 31 minutes and Agustin bared that there are names of potential replacements and he will spend the weekend reviewing the tapes of the candidates.
Agustin said that Basden’s injury needs to be rested for at least two weeks, and that the replacement will come to pinch-hit until the Boosters’ original import is healthy enough to return.