Choi, Davies arrange TPK finals duel
-A A +AMonday, March 11, 2013
AN UNDERGOAL stab by Ruel Balgos with 0.6 seconds to go shoved No. 3 CSA-B Choi Sportswear to the finals in a dramatic heart-thumping victory over No. 2 USLS President’s Gym 80-79 played last Sunday in Class A action of the 13th Tan Kek Pin Memorial Basketball Cup at TTHS Po Hang Gym.
In the other game, top-seed UNO-R A Davies Philippines also advanced to the championship by outscoring Willtrade Sagay Central for the first three quarters to win handily 79-63.
The one game championship game will be played on March 16, Saturday at 6 pm at the West Negros University Gymnasium.
USLS-President’s Gym’s deficit went as high as 16 points before it grabbed a 67-54 lead going to the 4th quarter.
President’s Gym opened the 1st 3 minutes of the 4th quarter with a 9-1 run engineered by Allen Dionela.
However, Choi’s twin towers of Jornel Laborte and Balgos pounded it inside to restore the lead back to 72-64.
Stingers Mark De La Cruz and Eman Sevilla’s back-to-back treys cut the deficit to two points.
Mark De Real’s steal and layup finally put USLS in the lead 75-74, but Peewee Demonteverde returned the compliment with a steal and made a free throw to tie the game at 75-all at the 2:32 mark.
Sevilla was at the right place at the right time, scoring on a putback as he snatched the rebound from the twin towers of Choi.
Laborte and Balgos’ free throws swung the lead back to CSAB 78-77.
Sevilla scored on another offensive putback to put USLS on top 79-78 with 44 seconds left.
After botched attempts by both teams, Choi mapped out its last offensive with 11.3 seconds left. Demonteverde was able to recover a loose ball but his attempt was deflected.
However, the ball landed in the waiting hands of Balgos who was positioned under the basket. Balgos put up the shot that slowly rolled in, leaving USLS with .6 seconds to score.
President’s Gym lobbed the ball in the shaded area but it was tapped out by the frontline of Choi as time expired.
Demonteverde scored 11 points in the 2nd quarter while Balgos, Laborte and Johnson Salazar combined for 22 points in the 1st half to give Choi a 43-37 halftime lead. Janus Calma and De La Cruz fired 10 points each for the Stingers.
Turnovers and missed shots characterized the 3rd quarter of USLS with Rendell Bernales as the lone bright spot for President’s Gym, scoring 10 of the team’s 17 points in the 3rd quarter.
Demonteverde, Alfred Valle and Laborte had 6 points each to give CSAB a 13 point lead at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Laborte had a game-high 20 points, Demonteverde added 18 points, Balgos made 16 points, Johnson Salazar picked up 13 points and Alfred Valle delivered 10 points.
Janus Calma, De La Cruz and Sevilla delivered 13 points apiece. Sevilla scored 11 points in the 4th quarter, Rendell Bernales and Kevin Villafranca shot 12 points each, Dionela hit seven points and De Real had six points.
In the other semis encounter, Rodel Canino and Ritcer Santillan delivered 9 and 6 points, respectively to push the Rams to a 24-11 1st quarter lead.
Sagay Central could not make a dent on the Davies lead in the next 2 quarters, as they were outscored 35-32 as UNO-R extended the lead to 59-43 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Jeff Jacinto, who scored 17 straight points for Willtrade spanning from the 3rd quarter to the 4th quarter, led a mini-comeback, as Sagay Central cut the deficit to 50-62.
But it was short-lived, as the Rams responded with a 7-0 run to take the life out of Willtrade and seal the finals encounter with Choi.
Canino led a balanced Davies offensive with 16 points, Mark Ramos added 15 points, Cedric Eslabon and Joemel Paderog fired 14 points each and Jade Paul Calma had 7 points.
Jacinto finished with a game-high 23 points, Ernesto Cagayao scored 15 points, Joemarie Bayhon shot 8 points, Marlon Talatala with 6 points and Virgilio Dapar had 5 points. (Stephen Tan/Contributor)
Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on March 12, 2013.
Sports
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