BLACKWATER and GlobalPort are both on the verge of missing out the playoffs and which one can prop its own bid while pushing the other closer to the brink would be known Sunday when they collide in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
A win by the Elite would give them at least a playoff spot for the eighth and last quarterfinals slot while the Batang Pier are looking to snap out of a three-game slide and fan their own hopes of making it through.
"We don't have to be a scientist to figure that out," said GlobalPort coach Franz Pumaren of the Blackwater game. "It's a must win for us."
Blackwater coach Leo Isaac also has a simple take on the game, his team's penultimate match in the 11-game eliminations.
"We will go for a win in our game against GlobalPort for an outright entry to the quarterfinals," said Isaac.
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The Elite are actually coming off an 81-98 loss to Barangay Ginebra two Fridays ago. But that is one defeat import Henry Walker, an NBA veteran who came in and lifted the squad from a 0-3 start, could easily swallow.
Blackwater actually engaged the defending champion in a furious battle and even led by seven points early, before running out of steam in the last seven minutes of the game.
"We went out there and tried to hit them with the knockout punch early," noted Walker, who finished with 26 points anchored on six triples, 17 boards, four assists, three steals and one block.
"They got up, they hit us back and we hit them back. It was a good match until eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. Their championship pedigree just came out."
Pumaren couldn't say the same thing about his team after GlobalPort lost to Star 83-109 last Friday in a game where the Batang Pier were in it only in the opening minutes.
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Not even the return of Stanley Pringle could boost misfiring GlobalPort as he went 2-for-15 from the floor while backcourt partner Terrence Romeo made only three of 16 shots.
Now the Batang Pier must do a quick turnaround and rally behind Murphey Holloway (27.13 points, 18.3 rebounds) while trying to stifle Walker (30 points, 18 rebounds) and the rest of the Elite.
