MANILA: The Smart Gilas Nationals poured on the points early in the game en route to a resounding 111-104 win against the Barangay Ginebra Kings Wednesday night in the PBA Commissioner's Cup. When the Kings made a last-ditch stand to trim the Nationals' lead down to six, 97-91, with two minutes left in the game, naturalized 6'10” center Marcus Douthit drilled seven straight points to seal the victory for Smart Gilas. Douthit finished with a conference-high 30 points, including 14, in the fourth quarter to lead the Nationals. Smart Gilas grabbed the first of two automatic semifinals slots with its seventh win against a solitary loss as it regained solo leadership of the conference. The loss snapped Ginebra's four-game winning streak as the Kings dropped to a 5-3 win-loss slate, good for solo fourth. Despite the defeat, the Kings still have the chance to take the second automatic semis berth if they beat Talk N Text on April 3 and the Texters lose to B-Meg Derby Ace on Friday, tying them at 6-3. All ties will be broken via the PBA quotient system. Marcio Lassiter added 21 points for Smart Gilas while JV Casio and Chris Lutz combined for 31 markers. Nate Brumfield, Willie Miller and Mark Caguioa each finished with 21 points for Ginebra. But the trio missed crucial shots in the homestretch that could have kept the game closer. In the nightcap, the Air21 Express sent the Meralco Bolts closer to outright elimination with a 110-101 win. Alpha Bangura led the Express with 25 points while former Beerman Dondon Hontiveros added 20 markers. Its third win in seven games improved the chances of Air21 to enter the quarterfinals as it tied Rain or Shine at sixth to seventh place in the standings. The top six teams qualify for the playoffs at the end of the elimination round. Champ Oguchi led all scorers with a conference-high 39 points but his output was not enough to give Meralco a better chance to qualify for the playoffs. The Bolts are now languishing at ninth spot with a 2
