THE wait is over as the league No.1 team M. Lhuillier-Cebu Niños are now scheduled to play the No. 8 finisher Trace Laguna Stallions in the best-of-five quarterfinal series in the 2008 Liga Pilipinas Smart Playoffs on Aug. 21 at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Stallions did not allow the Tagaytay-Cavite Heroes to keep their composure as the home team closed out the wildcard phase with a 91-63 decision to move to the next round.
Tagaytay started strong but Laguna came back roaring in the next 10 minutes to grab the lead, 35-33, at halftime.
With its game starting to flow like a well-oiled machine, Laguna outscored Tagaytay 29-13 for a 64-46 lead entering the final period.
Jerwin Gaco led all scorer with 23 points for the Stallions, while three other Laguna players finished in double digits.
Lawrence Bonus topped Tagaytay-Cavite with 16 points.
Meanwhile, the Iloilo Mang Inasals pulled a rousing surprise over the home team Baguio Victory to sweep their wildcard phase games with two unbelievable wins.
Iloilo defeated Baguio last Tuesday 93-82 and followed it with a 107-100 decision in their knockout game Wednesday evening to take the quarterfinal seat. (RCM)
