Barangay Ginebra San Miguel secured the fifth seed after beating Titan Ultra, 108-105, in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
Stephen Holt dropped 27 points as the Kings improved to a 7-4 win-loss record and avoided alate meltdown.
Down 94-102 with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Joshua Munzon went on a seven-point solo run to cut the lead to one for the Giant Risers.
Holt and RJ Abarrientos were able to sink their free throws to extend the Kings' lead to five, 106-101.
But Calvin Abueva drained a four-point shot with four seconds left on the clock to bring Titan Ultra to within one, 105-106
Abarrientos, who finished with 24 points and six assists, drained two crucial free throws for Ginebra as they came out in top.
"Well, we've worked this hard to win this game, so let's bring it home. Then we had that tough call on Jayson David that gave them a seven-point play that made it a game again. We thought the game was over by that time," Kings head coach Tim Cone said.
Ginebra will face Converge, which holds a twice-to-beat advantage, in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 7:30 at the Big Dome.