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Derby Ace sealed its playoff berth with defending champion San Miguel following a 106-100 win over Barako Sunday night at the end of the PBA Fiesta Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum.
Cliff Brown’s best game of the season couldn’t have come at the most opportune time as the energetic import came away with a season-high 43 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. He shot 18-of-29 from the field and played a major part in the Llamados’ key third quarter run en route to the all-important win. The reigning Philippine Cup titlist finished the qualifying phase tied with the defending champion Beermen at 12-5, and the two dispute the No. 2 spot and the last outright semifinals berth in a playoff set on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. "This has been our mindset at the beginning of the tournament. And if we just keep on our focus, then I think we have a very good shot at that No. 2 spot," said Brown. The win by Derby Ace also ended Barako’s season as the Energy Coffee Makers were hoping to make a last-minute push in a bid to tie Air21 and force a sudden-death for the last wildcard slot. The Energy Coffee Masters ended up with a 3-15 card, which is the same record they had in the Philippine Cup. James Yap led all local scorers for the Llamados with 18 points, KG Canaleta had 13 including 3-of-4 from three point range and Roger Yap 10, including an 18-foot jumper from in the final 26 seconds that sealed the game for Derby Ace, 106-99.
Barako's Al Vergara (center) battles Derby Aces' Rommel Adducul (left) and KG Canaleta for the rebound during their game in the PBA Fiesta Cup on Sunday at the Big Dome. Robert Viñas
Sammy Monroe led Barako Coffee with 37 points, but fatigue caught up with him just at the height of the Energy Coffee Makers’ searing second half run that saw them threatened at 61-59. Coach Junel Baculi then opted to give his import some rest which the Llamados capitalized behind Brown’s inside scoring to hike the lead to as much as 82-67 entering the final quarter. Trailing 99-84 inside the final four minutes, Barako made one gallant stand led by Paolo Hubalde and made it 104-99 with 44 seconds to play. But coming off a timeout, the Llamados played out the clock before going to Roger Yap, who buried that dagger of a jumper. – JVP, GMANews.TV
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