A STRONG finish pushed Mahindra to its third win as it walloped NLEX, 106-96, wrapping up its campaign on a positive note despite already being eliminated in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City last night.
Alex Mallari had a career game, scoring a career-high 30 points to go with 10 rebounds and just missing a triple-double by one assist to lift the Floodbuster as he continues to show his vast improvement.
Rookie Reden Celda helped out as he also scored a career-high 18 points for Mahindra.
Strong second and fourth quarters propelled Mahindra to the victory.
The Floodbuster orchestrated a 21-12 run to end the second, gain steam and hold a 57-49 edge at the turn.
After NLEX crawled its way back in the third and tied things up at 77-all entering the last 12 minutes, Mahindra countered in the fourth with a decisive 17-4 bomb midway in the period to grab a commanding 99-85 cushion after a Jason Ballesteros basket with 4:14 remaining.
It never looked back from there.
Mahindra and NLEX are already out of contention with a game to play each.
With the win, Mahindra improved to 3-7 and moved to a 10th-place tie with Meralco with an improved 3-7 mark, while NLEX remained at the bottom with its league-worst 2-8 card.
At this point, the only things certain is San Miguel already clinching the top seed. It is already in the quarterfinals along with Phoenix and TNT KaTropa, while Meralco, NLEX and Mahindra are all eliminated and one more team will join them on the sidelines once the smoke clears.
Five teams, TNT KaTropa, Phoenix, Alaska, Rain or Shine and Star are all contending for the No. 2 seed and the remaining twice-to-beat incentive that goes along with it in the quarters.
Alaska, Rain or Shine, Star, Ginebra, GlobalPort and Blackwater are six teams which are still yet to clinch a spot in the playoffs but only five of them will move forward as only the top eight are bound to advance.
The scores:
MAHINDRA 106—Mallari 30, Celda 18, Escoto 12, Galanza 11, Apinan 10, Revilla 9, Deutchman 6, Ballesteros 5, Paniamogan 3, Eriobu 2, Yee 0, Elorde 0, Teng 0, Salva 0.
NLEX 96—Camson 17, Guinto 13, Baracael 10, Khobuntin 9, Lastimosa 9, Alas 8, Rios 6, J. Villanueva 6, Monfort 5, Lanete 4, Taulava 4, Soyud 2, Gotladera 2, E. Villanueva 1.
Quarters: 22-27, 57-49, 77-77, 106-96