Last 2 semis slots at stake

MANILA, Philippines —  Converge is after its first semifinal stint in franchise history. Rain or Shine wants to continue making inroads with its promising young core.

For Meralco, there’s payback to be gained if successful against a rival that knocked it out in the Final-8 last conference. For Barangay Ginebra, it’s staying on course for the title after falling short the last three conferences.

With such motivation, the four teams chasing the two unclaimed tickets to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals duke it out in a double do-or-die Game 3 today at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

The Elasto Painters, who forced a decider with a 114-104 equalizer last Friday, shoot for their third straight semis appearance at 5 p.m. against a FiberXers crew bent on getting past the quarterfinals after four previous unsuccessful attempts.

The Bolts, who stayed alive with a 108-104 victory in Game 2, aim for a reverse sweep in the best-of-three affair at 7:30 p.m. and make it tit for tat on the Gin Kings, who sent them to the exits in the Governors’ Cup Last-8.

“For a team that’s really hoping to develop into a contender, we need situations like this, mga ganitong test sa sarili namin,” said ROS coach Yeng Guiao.

“This is part of the process. Sinasabi ko nga bago mag-umpisa ‘yung laro, just fight like hell, be smart. After the game, whatever the result is, we will live with it.”

The winner of the ROS-Converge tussle will face TNT in the best-of-seven semis. On the other hand, the victor between Ginebra and Meralco will take on NorthPort in the next round. The top-seeded Batang Pier and the No. 2 Tropang Giga reached the Last-4 after making short work of No. 8 Magnolia, 113-110, and No. 7 Eastern, 109-93, respectively.