Porter lifts Kings over Phone Pals

Chris Porter had a swashbuckling debut with Barangay Ginebra, enabling the Kings to snap a three-game skid and stay in the fight for an outright berth in the San Mig Coffee PBA Fiesta Cup semifinals with a 97-92 win over Talk n Text last night at the Astrodome.

Porter, a former Auburn standout with stints with the Golden State Warriors and the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA, came up with a huge double-double game with 31 points and 24 rebounds in leading the Kings to the victory that gave them a piece of third place with the Phone Pals and the Red Bull Barakos on their identical 8-7 slates.

Air21 (9-7) gained second place behind Purefoods (10-6) on Talk n Text’s defeat. The Express would clinch the second outright slot in the semis should the Phone Pals, the Kings and the Barakos all drop their last games in the last two playdates of the classification round.

Red Bull and Talk n Text take on Coca-Cola and San Miguel Beer, respectively, tomorrow in the same venue. Ginebra plays Alaska Milk on Christmas Day also in the Pasay City dome.

A win by any of these three teams forces a playoff for the second outright semis berth.

Porter imposed his strength at the paint, stopping Asi Taulava’s sizzling streak of double-double outings to six games. The Talk n Text behemoth was limited to only six points and five rebounds last night.

The 6-foot-5 Ginebra import rattled in 11 points in the payoff period, including three free throws that helped seal their win in the final 15 seconds of the game.

Meanwhile, league commissioner Noli Eala meted Coca-Cola import Omar Thomas a stiff sanction of a one-game suspension plus a fine of P150,000 for his flagrant foul on Sta. Lucia’s Dennis Espino in their game Friday. Thomas, who inflicted Espino a cut on the head, will miss their game against Red Bull Barako tomorrow.