Meralco and Phoenix aim for semifinals – Manila Bulletin

The question of whether there is already a change in momentum or just a bump in the road will be heard on Sunday in Game 3 of the two semifinals of the PBA Philippines Cup at the University of Angeles Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.

Phoenix Super LPG and TNT collide at 3:45 pm before Meralco and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel meet at 6:30 pm with the winner of both games gaining a 2-1 lead in their respective best-of-five series. .

Both semifinals are tied at 1-1 after Phoenix and Meralco achieved contrasting victories on Friday inside the Smart Clark Giga City bubble.

Calvin Abueva’s complete game propelled Phoenix to a 110-103 victory over TNT, while Meralco came out of a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to upset Geneva 95-77.

If the tide has turned after those results it will be known when both games have started.

“TNT has been the dragon in front of us,” Fuel Masters coach Topex Robinson said. “In order for us to get to the final, one way or another, we have to face that dragon and we just have to play the best we can.”

The Fuel Masters built an 18-point lead in the second quarter before resisting a 41-point blast from Ray Parks Jr. and the return of Tropang Giga with Abueva and Jason Perkins making the big plays down the stretch.

Meralco saw its top players Chris Newsome, Allein Maliksi, Raymond Almazan and Baser Amer step up during the second half despite falling behind for more than half of the contest.

“In this type of series, it is always a game of adjustments. And obviously we lost Game 1, so we were the ones who really had to adjust to try to keep up with the Geneva team, “said Meralco’s mentor, Norman Black.

“Now either you stand your ground or you try to anticipate what adjustments (Geneva) coach Tim (Cone) is going to make. Or they will just do much better than they did (in Game 2), ”he added.

One tweak that will likely come to light is how Guinevere can get point guard Stanley Pringle back to its usual shape.

Pringle was limited to just nine points on 4 of 16 shooting, only the second time this season that the speedy point guard failed to score in double figures.