MANILA, Philippines – Alaska came away with a 100-76 rout of GlobalPort on Wednesday to even their Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at 1-1.
But veteran guard Dondon Hontiveros is convinced that the Batang Pier are no pushovers as evidenced by the physical skirmish that marred Game Two during the tailend of the first quarter.
“Hindi mo masasabi na upstart ang GlobalPort kasi sanay din sila sa ganito (physicality). They have players who are also physical like Billy (Mamaril), Doug (Kramer) and (Anthony) Semerad,” said Hontiveros.
The 6-foot-2 Cebuano hotshot was just one of 16 players and coaches who were slapped with a technical foul for taking part in the melee that prompted PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa to jump out of his seat and join the referees in restoring order on the court.
After the game, Hontiveros, accompanied by coach Alex Compton and board governor Dickie Bachmann, met with Narvasa to clarify what he told sports online site Spin.ph on Wednesday night.
“I guess mali lang yung pagkasabi ko (at Spin.ph). Pero lumapit si com (Narvasa) para matigil yung commotion and he has the right na matigil because that is for the fans para di na maparami pa ang technical (fouls),” he said.
“Di ko alam kung ano problema ni com, yun lang ang sinabi ko, but then it’s his job to protect the league and protect the interest of the fans kasi what if may mangyari or ma-suspend ako,” added the 38-year-old Hontiveros.
With the series reduced to a best-of-five affair, Hontiveros said they don’t intend to relax, aware that the Batang Pier are expected to bounce back in game Three on Friday.
“We have to play urgency. Si basta basta team itong GlobalPort. They made it to the semis because they are very dangerous, and now, it’s up to us to handle the physicality and pressure,” said the former University of Cebu standout.
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