LEAGUE newcomers JPT took down the CAT 8Traders, 80-77, to advance to the Final Four stage of the Metro Cebu Basketball League Season 9 last March 3, 2023 at the City Sports Club-Cebu basketball court.
JPT was up, 56-51, heading to the final canto but found their second wind and uncorked a 13-6 run to go up by 12, 69-57, heading to the last five minutes. CAT tried to pull close, but JPT pulled out all the stops in the endgame to come away victorious.
Zaionyl Rosano led JPT with 28 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Red-haired big man Bryan Alforque added 11 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block.
JPT will face the reigning champions, Artera Builders, in the semifinals after the latter defeated Baluarte Civmech, 79-70.
Baluarte fought hard against the reigning league rulers and led 65-63, heading to the game’s final stages. However, Artera showed incredible poise down the stretch, rattling off a crushing 16-5 run to grab the victory.
Jeff Gudes scored 28 points, making all but two of his 12 field-goal attempts. AJ Crisologo scored 11 points, seven boards, and five dimes. Paul Sungahid chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
The other semifinal showdown will feature two former MCBL champions as the Sherilin Gremlinz battles the ARQ Builders.
Sherilin bested Oninz Trading, 86-72, while ARQ slipped past Maxprint, 71-66, to set up what is expected to be an intense match-up.
Tommy Ugsimar led ARQ with 25 points including a clutch layup in the game’s dying seconds that secured the win for the team of businessman Jason Arquisola. George Sumalinog had 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Jandel Flores contributed 11 points and 12 boards.
Meanwhile, Mark Solinia scored 23 points to lead Richard Mercado’s Sherilin to the wire-to-wire win. / JNP