ROJAN Montemayor came up with two huge baskets down the stretch to power the Consolacion Sarok Weavers to a 78-73 win over the Sealcor Cagayan De Oro Kingfishers in the semifinals of the 2022 Pilipinas Super League U21 Aspirants Division Invitational Cup on Monday afternoon at the Manuel Roxas Sports Complex.
Tied at 72-all after the Kingfishers’ Sherwin Belardo scored a three-pointer and a floater, the Sarok Weavers composed themselves and made all the winning ways down the stretch. First, Neon Chavez stole the ball from John Carl Cabuga as he was going up for a shot before dishing it off to Montemayor for the go-ahead transition basket.
Chavez then stole an errant inbound pass by Cagayan de Oro’s Nicho Estrella that resulted in a fadeaway jumper by Montemayor that gave Consolacion a 76-72 lead with 1:37 to go.
Belardo tried to keep the Kingfishers in it by making a free-throw to trim the deficit to three but Chavez sealed the win for the Sarok Weavers by making two free-throws with just 16 seconds remaining.
Gyle Montaño led the Sarok Weavers with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Montemayor finished with 17 points and 11 boards. Chavez came off the bench and added six points, four rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
Belardo and Angelo Mercado had 12 points each for Cagayan de Oro.
Consolacion will now wait for the winner of the other semifinal clash between Roxas and Bukidnon. (JNP)