THE reigning champions Sykes Pioneers and the Contact Solutions Lemurs booked their finals tickets while the Dynata Warriors lived to fight another day in the Tanduay Athletics E-Leagues for Basketball semifinals at the City Sports Club-Cebu on Sunday, December 22.

The Pioneers bested the Fusion BPO Dragons, 85-78, to advance to the finals of the Elite Classic division for the second year in a row. Sykes got a fantastic game from Dominic Adlawan who fired in 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Victor Rabat also stepped up with 14 points, four boards and six assists even as Bryan Divinagracia and Jomar Sollano chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Over in the Evo League, the Lemurs bested the Optum Knights, 66-55, to complete a 2-0 series sweep and move on to the championship round. Cyril Gayo and Jerard dela Cerna led a balanced effort by Contact Solutions with 11 points apiece. Kim Reyes and Japhet Tuazon also added nine markers each to make up for the subpar effort of star Joey Juntilla, who managed a mere three points.

Meanwhile, Dynata took full advantage of an undermanned Kyocera squad to win, 80-49, and send the semifinals to a deciding Game Three.

Tommy Ugsimar shredded Kyocera’s defense and came up with a complete stat-line of 23 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks.

The Pioneers played with just eight guys and also missed the services of longtime star, Ariel Edera. (JPN)