Shell averts early exit

Shell, which has been running on empty, gassed up in time to stay on track for a crack at the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals with an 83-66 rout of Alaska Milk at the Araneta Coliseum.

With their back against the wall, the Turbochargers unravelled a charged-up game and avoided outright elimination as they snapped a six-game losing skid.

Despite the victory, Shell stayed in a tight fix, needing to win its final game in the elimination round versus Barangay Ginebra on Sunday and hope either Mobiline or Pop Cola lose all its remaining games to have a crack at a playoff for the last quarterfinals berth.

The Aces practically moved out of contention for the Magic Four as they suffered their fourth straight loss and fell to 4-4. They close out their elimination-round stint versus the Mobiline Phone Pals.

"It’s tough to be in this situation. At this point, we have to realize that we still have a chance but it all depends on the games of Mobiline and Pop Cola," said coach Perry Ronquillo, whose Turbochargers are still deep in the cellar with a 2-6 win-loss record.

"It’s frustrating and disheartening as our chance for the Magic Four continues to slip away. Honestly, I don’t know what’s the solution for our slump. Everybody’s struggling. I don’t care who we play next. Even our grandmothers will beat us," said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

The Turbochargers, with Tremaine Wingfield at the forefront of their bid, made a daring breakaway in the second quarter and never looked back from there as they snapped their longest losing streak under coach Ronquillo.

So impressive were the Turbochargers last night for they committed only four errors on the way to pulling off only their first victory since winning their first game in the conference over the Tanduay Rhum Masters. The Aces, meanwhile, had 19 turnovers with import Terrance Badgett and ace forward Ali Peek accounting for 11.

Wingfield played his best game since taking over Juaquin Hawkins, scoring a game high 30 points and logging 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals in 46 minutes of action. Mike Hrabak added 17 points while Gerry Esplana, in only his second game since returning from the injury list, chipped in 10.

Wingfield had 12 in the second quarter where the Turbochargers unleashed searing runs to break open a close 16-15 count at the end of the first period.

And carrying a 38-23 cushion into the second half, the Turbochargers refused to slow down, working even harder to complete a ghastly rout.