Booker, Beverly punch semis ticket in NBA 2K Players Tournament

Delfin Dioquino

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Booker, Beverly punch semis ticket in NBA 2K Players Tournament
The NBA 2K Players Tournament is down to two guards and two big men

MANILA, Philippines – It will be two guards and two big men in the Final Four of the NBA 2K Players Tournament as the quarterfinals wrapped up on Thursday, April 9 (Friday, April 10, Manila time). 

Devin Booker remained in dominant form with a 16-point win, while DeAndre Ayton, Montrezl Harrell, and Patrick Beverly all advanced. 

Using the Dallas Mavericks, Booker trailed at halftime to Rui Hachimura and the Los Angeles Clippers before his second-half turnaround as he led by 13 going into the final quarter en route to the 71-55 win. 

Hachimura got buried by as much as 20 points and never recovered, allowing Booker to set up a semifinals date with Harrell, whose Portland Trail Blazers edged out Derrick Jones Jr and the Mavericks.

The first to use the Blazers in the 16-player tournament, Harrell struggled to close out the win as Jones Jr staged a fourth-quarter comeback but he built a lead enough to hack out a 71-66 triumph. 

Beverly, meanwhile, booted out Andre Drummond with the Philadelphia 76ers pulling off a 69-62 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks have gone 5-of-5 in the first round, but that streak was put to a screeching halt as Beverly proved the better player in the endgame. 

Completing the semifinals cast is Ayton, whose Clippers eked out a 73-66 win against the Los Angeles Lakers to eliminate tournament favorite Trae Young.

Young was within striking distance late only to witness the Clippers’ Paul George slam home two dunks – one that broke a 58-58 deadlock and another that gave Ayton a 67-62 lead with 30 seconds left. 

Ayton will face Beverly in the best-of-three semifinals, which will be staged on Sunday, April 12 (Monday, April 13, Philippine time). 

The last man standing will win $100,000 for his chosen charity. – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.