Llamados forge playoff for Final 4 spot

The late-charging B-MEG Derby Ace caught up with San Miguel Beer at second place at the wire.

The Llamados capped a mighty finish in the elimination round with a 106-100 drubbing of the Barako Energy Coffee Masters Sunday night to force a playoff with the Beermen for the second outright semis seat in the PBA Fiesta Conference.

Derby Ace and San Miguel dispute the precious berth at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

It's a double playoff with Rain or Shine and Barangay Ginebra clashing in the other game to decide which gets the last outright slot in the quarterfinals.

Cliff Brown played big in their pivotal game against Barako at the Araneta Coliseum, pouring in a personal conference high of 43 points that went with 20 rebounds as the Llamados rolled past the Coffee Masters and pulled even with the Beermen at 13-5.

The Coffee Masters failed to make the post-elims play for the fourth straight conference.

They ended up with a mere 6-30 win-loss record in the season  the worst for the franchise since joining the league in 2000.

"I thought we played well in the last six games. Unfortunately, it's not enough for us to secure the No. 2 spot. But for as long as we have a shot at it, we'll push for it," said Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio.

"We beat San Miguel in the second round but it's not like we just have to show up and it's a guaranteed win for us," Gregorio also said.

"I still believe San Miguel and Talk n Text possess the best talents in the league. What's going for us is that we play solid basketball as a team. We did that in our last six games."

James Yap, despite a reported marital woes, came through with a sterling game, piling up 18 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 31 minutes of action.

Nino Canaleta added 13 points and four rebounds while Roger Yap chipped in 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Facing the dim prospect of elimination, the Coffee Masters put up a tough fight but didn't last the distance.

They kept on fighting and fighting until Roger Yap nailed a clutch shot making it 106-100 with 26 seconds left to play.

They bade the tourney good bye with only three wins against 15 losses, the same record they posted in the Philippine Cup.

The Llamados made it six in a row and are now hoping to stretch it to seven games to gain outright entry into the semifinals. (SB)

- PBA.ph

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