Top seed Tanduay and highly-touted Nueva Ecija romped Muntinlupa Angelis Resort EOG Cooly and Kuala Lumpur, respectively, to lead the semifinals cast of the 2022 Filbasket Summer Championships, Monday at the San Jose Del Monte Sports Complex in Bulacan.
The Rum Masters broke away in the second half, scoring an 89-74 triumph over Muntinlupa to punch their semis berth.
Tanduay talisman Cedrick Ablaza scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the final canto to secure the win over an EOG Cooly team led by Kyle Neypes, who served up 17 points and 11 rebounds.
In the nightap, the Capitals flaunted their depth against the Malaysians, taking a 101-83 victory.
The contest was marred by violence in the second quarter when Aseel’s Anthony Liew was thrown out for decking Jay Collado with a shocking left-handed punch with Nueva Ecija up 32-27. The attack left Collado with a bloodied nose. Moments earlier Collado had pressed his fist into Liew’s face while the two bigs were jockeying for position, a move the Malaysian apparently did not appreciate.
After a long discussion between league president Jai Reyes and coaches Jerson Cabiltes and Guganeswaran Batumalai, the game resumed, and the seventh-seeded Aseel was never the same. The Malaysians had flown in from Bali in the morning, where they played in the 2022 ABL Pre-SEA GAmes tournament, and simply ran out of gas.
Byron Villarias led the Capitals with 18 points
Meanwhile, third seed All Star Bacolod Bingo Plus and San Juan had to dig deep to advance to the next round.
The Ballers from Bacolod edged a valiant AFP FSD Makati side, taking an 83-78 overtime win.
AFP roared back from an eight-point deficit, 73-65, with just over two minutes to go, unleashing a 10-0 run and taking a 75-73 lead off a Jan Formento bucket. Then Alwyn Alday negated that with a floater to send the game to OT.
In the extension the military team fired blanks and were outscored 8-3, to seal their exit from the competition.
Mark Yee starred for Bingo Plus with 22 points and 15 boards.
Formento paced the Cavaliers with 21 points.
In a knockout game, the Knights eliminated Pasig-Sta. Lucia in overtime with a 93-91 nailbiter.
An Orlan Wamar layup gave the Knights a 78-71 lead with four minutes to go. But another late-game dip for San Juan was in the cards as Pasig’s Jun Manzo and Lester Tamayo combined to force overtime at 80-80.
Manzo’s late triple in the extra period with seven ticks left brought the Realtors to within one, 92-91, but Jhonard Clarito iced the game with a split from the line.
Clarito led all scorers with 23 points.
Pasig was without injured stars Jeric Teng (back), and Rob Manalang (groin), while Knight Ato Ular also missed the game with back spasms.
The Scores:
First Game
Tanduay 89 – Ablaza 16, Hernandez 12, Cruz 11, Olivares 11, Baloria 8, Importante 6, Apinan 6, Villanueva 6, Lingganay 5, Ochea 3, Gonzales 3, Dela Virgen 2, Lunor 0, Asuncion 0, Ambulodto 0.
Muntinlupa Angelis Resort 74 – Neypes 17, Chauca 15, Mangahas 13, Dennison 8, Stevens 7, Baetiong 6, Gabriel 5, Lopez 2, Ruaya 1, Mallari 0.
Quarterscores: 20-12, 39-32, 65-56, 89-74.
Second Game
Bacolod Bingo Plus 83 – Yee 22, Albo 16, Alday 12, Lee Yu 9, Villoria 9, Solis 6, Ilagan 5, Lao 2, Casino 2, Garcia 0.
Makati-AFP 78 – Formento 21, Cani 16, Alcoriza 13, Diwa 7, Colina 6, Custodio 6, Casajeros 4, Alonzo 3, Pido 2, Cordero 0.
Quarterscores: 23-15, 35-41, 57-57, 75-75, 83-78.
Third Game
San Juan 93 – Clarito 23, Wamar 19, Fuentes 15, Gutang 12, Isit 8, Bunag 6, Sarangay 4, Ibanez 2, Acosta 2, Arim 2, Peralta 0.
Pasig-Sta Lucia 91 – Manzo 22, Nimes 17, Chan 15, Moralde 10, Costelo 9, Tamayo 8, Bautista 5, Lucero 5, Ballesteros 0.
Quarterscores: 23-27, 41-43, 65-65, 80-80, 93-91.
Fourth Game
Nueva Ecija 101 – Villarias 18, McAloney 12, Juico 12, Balucanag 8, Collado 8, Uyloan 7, Palma 7, Mabulac 6, Bitoon 5, Raymundo 5, Gabo 5, Taganas 3, Siruma 3, Manalang 2, Bringas 0.
Kuala Lumpur 83 – Chang 15, Ooi 14, Kwaan 13, Tem 11, Ting 10, Wee 8, W. Liew 4, Lee 4, Kuek 3, A. Liew 1, Teo 0, Ong 0.
Quarterscores: 19-23, 45-32, 81-64, 101-83.
