Panthers pounce on importless Gins

Pop Cola exploited the absence of Ginebra’s ace import as it pulled off a crucial 83-71 victory in the PBA Governors‘ Cup quarterfinals and firmed up its bid for a twice-to-beat incentive at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Rossel Ellis fell short of his 29-point average against a string of local defenders but he got practically all his teammates involved in the game as they avenged their 92-105 loss to the Kings in their first meeting last Oct. 17 and, in the process, boosted their bid for the Magic Four with a 6-5 win-loss record.

The Kings suffered their second straight loss minus the injured Mark Jones and skid further in the chart with a 4-7 slate.

The Ginebra management actually burned phone lines looking for a temporary replacement to Jones but to no avail as prospective imports Tyrone Mack and Richard Wells backed out at the last minute.

Already playing importless, the Kings also lost a key figure on the bench as consultant Ron Jacobs was ejected late in the second period for technical fouls. Jacobs went ballistic after rookie referee Torongine Aldaba ignored their call for 30-second timeout with Jojo Lastimosa about to take a second free throw with time down to four seconds. Lastimosa made both technical free throws and the Panthers carried a 46-38 lead into the final half.

Without Jones, the Kings put up a brave fight early on but just couldn’t keep pace with Ellis and the Panthers, falling behind by as many as 20 points at one point in the third quarter.

After breaking the game open at 64-44 with four minutes to go in the third period, the Panthers simply went through the motion of putting the final touches to the easy victory, letting up in the stretch to the dismay of coach Chot Reyes.

Reyes was disappointed they squandered a 15-point lead entering the final minute, thus, getting an inferior quotient against Ginebra. The Kings will get the higher seeding in case the two teams ended up in a tie.

"It was a big win but I’m disappointed of our execution in the homestretch. We didn’t play in the final minute, so talo kami ng Ginebra sa quotient," said Reyes.

Still, Reyes is hopeful they can have a good shot at the Magic Four, convinced they can match up with Alaska and Talk N Text in their last two games in the elims.

"Our last three games all fall on a Sunday so parang ‘Any Given Sunday.’ Any given Sunday will spell disaster or success on our goal," said Reyes.