THE MIsamis Oriental Meteors booked the first finals slot after a a 107-92 mastery over the Hobe Bihon-Taguig City the Cebu City Leg of the Tournament of the Philippines (TOP) the Cebu Coliseum last night.
Today, MisOr will try to continue its winning run and hand the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños their first defeat as they play for the bonus. The team that sweeps its elimination round will get an extra two points.
The Meteors played a well-oiled game after a tentative start to take total control of the ball game.
After five lead changes and three deadlocks in the opening quarter, the Meteors settled for a manageable 23-16 lead at the close of the first period.
But while the Meteors were heating up, Taguig faltered and succumbed to coach Jun Noel's pressure defense and run and gun game.
As a result, MisOr ran roughshod over Taguig and stretched its 7-point lead to, 38-21 in the next five minutes before closing the half at 54-27.
The Meteors continued to make exceptional plays and stretch the advantage to 32 at 63-31 early in the third.
Taguig slowly awakened from its trance and used its own version of run-and-gun game to bounce back but it was already too late.