After Viva-FEU and Sunkist-UST scored an all-important wins early in the day, Blustar capped the day of upsets with a masterful 80-74 win over Fash Liquid in a game dubbed as showdown of detergents in the PBL Platinum Cup at the Pasig Sports Center.
With Lou Gatumbanto providing little of everything, the Detergent Kings dictated the tempo of the game right from the very start, which was a complete turnaround from their first encounter where Fash proved too fast and furious for Blustar.
Beaten by 26 points (54-80) in the first round, the Detergent Kings worked patiently this time around, rotating the ball with extra care and employing a paralyzing trapping defense that resulted to many turnovers for Fash in the final quarter which Gatumbato and company translated into big points en route to their 6th win in 10 starts.
All the Blustar needs now is to win one of their remaining two games to secure the third semis slot.
The Tigers, relying heavily on the red-hot shooting of fast-rising Jemal Vizcarra stunned Welcoat, 89-83, to grab the second semis slot. With an 8-2 mark, Welcoat was the first team to advance into the second.
Surely, the battle for the last two berths will be hotly contested among Viva, Blustar, Fash and Montana.
Despite a 3-6 mark, the Water Force seem to have an inside crack, having won their last two games while Fash had dropped its last outings.
Gatumbato had six of his game-high 16 points in the final five minutes, including a huge triple from top of the key that shattered a 67-67 count. That shot turned out to be the final dagger in Fash’ heart as the Liquid Power turned the ball one after the other, obviously rattled by Blustar’s trapping defense.
"It was a big win for us but we have to keep our focus. We need one more win," said coach Leo Isaac. "I just hope we can grab the other semis berth."
The Liquid Power, who ruled the first conference, slipped to 4-5 in a tie with Montana Pawnship, which earlier in the day suffered its third straight defeat at the hands of Water Force (79-73).
Also shining for Blustar were Eric dela Cuesta who added 14 points while Ronald Pascual and Marc Victoria combined for 23 points. Pascual also made life miserable for Rich Alvarez as he shadowed him from the very start.
Alvarez, who is turning pro next year, was held to just one point in the final quarter. The 6-foot-4 Ateneo star finished with only 10 points.
Peter June Simon and Francis Mercado tallied 19 points each but their efforts went down the drain as they failed to get enough support from their teammates.