Cossack moves closer of earning semis berth

Paul Zamar scored 12 of his 14 points in the final period to help Cossack Vodka squeeze out a 70-69 win over FCA-Ani Agrinurture in the 2010 PBL PG Flex-Erase Placenta Cup Thursday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. The win was the fourth straight for the Vodka Spirits to remain on top of the standings in the eight-team field of the season-opening conference. The victory also put Cossack in good position of clinching one of the two outright semifinals berths. Cossack only needs to win one of their last three games to officially claim a semis seat.

Held to only a single basket at the turn, Zamar waxed hot in the fourth draining two huge three-pointers that brought the Vodka Spirits back from a 65-58 deficit midway in the said quarter. Zamar, who played for just 17 minutes, scored eight in Cossack’s 12-2 assault as the Vodka Spirits grabbed hold of a 70-67 lead with less than 40 seconds left in the game clock. Marc Cagoco had the chance to tie the count for the fourth time but was fouled while attempting from beyond the arc. He missed his first shot but made the last two to trim the lead to one 25.4 ticks left. Cossack failed to score at the other end as the Agrinurture defense forced JR Taganas to commit a five-second inbound violation, 16.3 seconds to go, giving the Cultivators the chance to steal the game away. The Cultivators, however, failed to launch a decent shot as Christian Luanzon, who’s three-pointer gave Agrinurture a seven-point spread, was forced to throw a hurried attempt beyond the arc by the double-teaming defense put up by Taganas and Earn Saguindel. "The win is another product of the team's fighting heart especially on the defensive end. They were taller than us and that made our players to work double time on defense," said Cossack assistant coach Nel Parado, who called the shots for the Vodka Spirits in the absence of head mentor Rena Baena who is in Malaysia doing a coaching clinic. Zamar had 14 point to support James Martinez’ 18 markers while Taganas was again the team's force inside the shaded lane with a huge 18 rebounds to go with his six markers. James Sena and Jopher Custodio scored 14 points each for their team who at 0-4 must win all their remaining three matches to keep their flickering hopes of advancing into the next round alive. Format calls for the eight teams to compete in a single round robin with the top four to advance into the Final Four. The top two teams after the elimination round enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the cross-over semifinals. – GMANews.TV