Talk N Text, the No. 7 team after the elimination round, defeated No. 2 Sta. Lucia, 87-79, while FedEx, the No. 6 squad, escaped with a scary 79-76 victory over No. 3 Alaska Milk.
The Realtors and the Milkmen, for finishing in the top four after the elims, only needed to beat their opponents once to advance into the semis. Instead, the Phone Pals and the Express forged a pair of do-or-die contests with the winners facing each other in a best-of-five semis matchup.
Coca-Cola, the No. 5 team, did a similar act last Thursday, beating No. 4 San Miguel Beer to keep its own semis hopes alive.
Defending champion Red Bull nailed the first semis slot by ousting Shell. The Thunder will face the winner between the Tigers and the Beermen in the next round.
Elmer Lago played the hero’s role for the Phone Pals, hitting a booming triple with only 44 ticks left to give his team an 82-78 lead. It was the only basket for the former La Salle Green Archer in the game.
A big letdown for Sta. Lucia in the final quarter were imports Chris Clay and Stephen Howard who were both held scoreless in the final 10 minutes. Clay, a former MBA player, scored 23 points, 10 of them coming in the third quarter where the Realtors appeared to have taken control of the game.
Vergel Meneses, the latest recruit for FedEx, split his four charities in the final six seconds as he helped preserve the victory. The Milkmen trailed all the way and had threatened at 76-77 when the former Ginebra player trooped to the charity lane twice.
After Meneses split his pair of charities for a 78-76 FedEx lead, Alaska gained a chance to equalize or even grab the upperhand. But EJ Feihl, who collared the defensive rebound, issued a weak outlet pass, leading to another foul on Meneses.
While it was Meneses who put on the finishing touches, import Jarmaine Walker provided the firepower, hitting back-to-back baskets from both wings to give FedEx a 76-72 lead with half a minute left. He finished the game with 24 points, six rebounds, two assists and a block.