MANILA: Magnolia has acquired much of Red Bull’s cornerstones the past few years.
Enrico Villanueva, Lordy Tugade, Larry Fonacier, to name some.
Interestingly, the exodus of those players in the past season did nothing to weaken the Barako, on whose hands now lie the fate of the rock-solid Beverage Masters.
Magnolia survived Alaska , 80-79 Sunday night, thanks to a controversial final-second call, that kept the Beverage Masters mathematically alive in the race for the second automatic Final Four berth in the Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Mike Cortez hit a charity with three-tenths of a second left to lift the Beverage Masters to a 10-8 tally at the close of their elimination round stint. But their placing in the semifinals can only be determined if the idle Barako lose their final two games.
“Everything else is now out of our hands,” Magnolia coach Siot Tanquingcen said. “Kung pagpapalain ni God (if God will bless us), we hope that somehow, we can get into the semis outright.”
Alaska also did not bow out of the semis picture even after dropping to 9-8. The Aces can still catch up with Magnolia if they win over Barangay Ginebra on Sunday, but like the Beverage Masters, they must also hope for two Red Bull losses.
The game seemed headed to extra time when the final Magnolia play with 11 seconds remaining was broken up by the tight Alaska defense.
But import Amal McCaskill found a way to give the ball to a streaking Cortez inside the paint, with Cortez attempting a layup before being hit at the back of the head slightly by Alaska import Randy Holcomb.
That was the sixth foul of Holcomb and it left .03 seconds on the clock. It was a foul which coach Tim Cone of Alaska said could have been let go.
“It certainly didn’t look that bad with the bare eye,” Cone said on the way out of their locker room. “The point is, I just don’t think the referees should decide the outcome of games.
“In my 20 years in the PBA, I haven’t seen a call like that,” Cone, the 1996 grand slam winner, added. “It’s a call we have to live with, though. But clearly, it can change our whole season.”
Cortez missed the first free throw but hit nothing but net with his second, leaving Alaska with a little time to launch a final play after calling its last timeout.
Larry Fonacier, who was instrumental in the last Alaska win even with Willie Miller not in the coliseum because of a bout with chicken pox, narrowly missed the potential game-winning 18-footer at the buzzer. After 12 points against Coca-Cola, Fonacier was scoreless last night. Miller was given the clear to dress and play. But the reigning MVP was clearly a step behind all night, shooting just nine points while missing two crucial free throws at the halfway point of the fourth period which missed giving the Aces the lead.
McCaskill neutralized Holcomb’s contribution, finishing with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Cortez led the Beverage Masters with 18 markers in just 27 minutes and earned a personal victory against the team that traded him at the start of the tournament. Crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra kept its wafer-thin semifinal hopes alive later after posting a 100-89 victory over Talk ‘N Text in the second game. Guards Mark Caguioa and Jay-Jay Helterbrand combined for 53 points, with Helterbrand shooting 30, including 10 in the final quarter where the Gin Kings scuttled numerous rally attempts by the Phone Pals.
