The finalists in the North and South Division in the Metro League Open basketball tournament are now complete.
Caloocan subdued Manila, 116-102, to reach the North Division finals, while San Juan ousted Pateros, 78-76, to advance to the South finals in a pair of playoff games at the Niagara Industrial Equipment Corporation gym.
Having already made it earlier to their respective finals of the tournament organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and supported by the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) were Valenzuela, which defeated Quezon City, 111-102, in the North; and Taguig, which downed Parañaque, 84-78, in the South.
McArthur Enriquez and Kristoffer Torrado provided the 1-2 punch for Caloocan, which finished No. 4 seed and needed to beat top seed Manila twice to advance to the finals.
Enriquez finished with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists and Torrado added 24 points, eight assist, and five rebounds for the Supremos of Mayor Oca Malapitan and Renzy Bajar.
Aevin Coquia contributed 14 points, Reynaldo De Mesa Jr. added 13 points, Michael Perez had 11 points and Jethro Sombero had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the Supremos’ second straight win.
Mark Christian Yu scattered 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds while Almel Orquina added 19 points for the All Stars.
Equally impressive was Solid San Juan-Big Chill, which slammed the door on Pateros.
Joshua Saret topscored with 21 points for San Juan, which raced to an early double-digit and never looked back to frustrate Pateros.
Emmanuel Elarmo tallied 14 points and eight rebounds and Jahn Magbanua had a double-double of 13 points and 13 boards for San Juan.
Reiner Quinga led Pateros with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Rickson Gerero had 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
The 10-team tournament also has Synergy 88, San Miguel Corp., World Balance, Frabelle Foods, Summit Mineral Water, Alco Plus, Gerry’s Grill, Excellent Noodles, glitter.ph, SM Supermalls and Nature’s Spring as the major sponsors.
The Scores:
First Game
San Juan (78) – Saret 21, Elarmo 14, Magbanua 13, Dada 7, Acol 6, Jagunap 6, Paras 4, Corpuz 3, Rosopa 2, Astrero 2, Danao 0, Clarianes 0
Pateros (76) – Quinga 23, Gerero 20, Mabazza 8, Singontiko 8, Capus 8, Lopez 4, Navarro 3, Ilac 2, Mercado 0, Brojan 0, Cruz 0
Quarterscores: 20-10, 38-31, 63-54, 78-76
Second Game
Caloocan (116) – Enriquez 25, Torrado 24, Coquia 14, De Mesa 13, Perez 11, Sombero 10, Bauzon 8, Ligon 6, Principe 5
Manila (102) – Yu 26, Orquina 19, Quiminales 13, Matignas 12, Manalo 10, Cruz 10, Tubera 6, Acibar 6, V. Mallari 0
Quarterscores: 27-28, 54-57, 90-80, 116-102.
