STANLEY Pringle went on a key scoring spree in the payoff period to help GlobalPort grind out a hard-fought 86-85 squeaker over Meralco to list its first win in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Pringle scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to give his team the lift it needed. He also had seven rebounds and three assists.

PHILIPPINE Basketball Association commissioner Willie Marcial gave Balkman a reprieve, five years after he received a lifetime ban from the local pro league after an incident during a Petron Blaze-Alaska Milk game in 2013.

FINAL: The @meralcobolts beat @columbianpba, 116-103

The three-time defending All-Filipino champion Beermen will open the 2018 semifinals against the Gin Kings Friday at the Big Dome For the fourth time in the last five PBA conferences,

The best-of-7 series is a rematch from last year's Finals, where San Miguel handily beat Ginebra in five games to capture the Perpetual trophy. It's the only series win by the Beermen over the Gin Kings in the last five conferences as Ginebra hold a 2-1 edge since the 2016 Governors' Cup.

Talk n Text used an aggressive first half to crush a hapless GlobalPort, 128-114, for a first win at the 2018 Honda PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Jayson Castro led TNT's charge with 21 points and 10 assists, while Roger Pogoy added 20 points and seven boards.

by ANNA MAE AREJA
Newly elected Philippine Olympic Committee president Ricky Vargas said this yesterday after he officially took office following a quick turnover ceremony with outgoing POC chief Jose “Peping” Cojaungco Jr.

Giving up his post as PBA chairman, which Vargas serves for the 2017-2018 season, will help him focus on the POC job at hand.

JuneMar Fajardo received his sixth Galvalum 55-PBA Player of the Conference award before the start of Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

By ANNA Mae Areja
NLEX advances to PBA semis for first time in franchise history

The Road Warriors advanced to their first semifinal appearance in the PBA, beating Alaska, 87-83, in Game 2 of of their Philippine Cup quarterfinals series Wednesday at the Big Dome.