UNBEATEN Sherilin Khalifa City of Naga needed to dig deep in Game 1 of the Manila Bankers Life-Pilipinas Super League 18-Under Visayas Leg Finals, taking a 66-61 win over the Consolacion Sarok Weavers on Saturday at Cebu City Sports Institute.
With the win, the representative of Naga is just one win away from securing its place in the national final which will also have the champions of NCR, Luzon, and Mindanao figure in the final phase of this tournament co-presented by SCD and Dumper party-list, and supported by J Project Clothings, MDC, Bluesky Advertising, NET 25, Wcube Solutions Inc., Hotel SOGO, and Converge.
Lawrence Mangubat put on a herculean line of 13 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists to carry Sherilin Khalifa City to its seventh straight win.
Sherilin Khalifa City earned an outright berth to the finals after sweeping the six-game elimination phase. They can secure their ticket to the big dance on Sunday.
Glenn Contado (16 points) and Allen Gako (10 points) supported Mangubat.
Ej Herbito paced the Sarok Weavers with 12 points while Lawrence Cacanog produced 10 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
Meanwhile, EZ Jersey Doc Boleros and 521 Trading-Mapua nailed crucial wins in the NCR Leg over at La Consolacion College Gymnasium.
Doc Boleros whipped Taytay, 93-65, while the Red Robins scraped past Caloocan, 82-74, to raise their slates to 3-1 — tying with idle Fin & Claw Grill for second to fourth.
Perpetual Help’s Amiel Acido showed the way for Doc Boleros, leading four players in double-figures with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Markkian Danag (13 points, five rebounds, five assists), Sean Bondoc (12 points), and Mark De Leon (12 points) also made significant contributions in the win that gave Doc Boleros its third straight win.
Nicolo Mulingtapang and Sean Salvador were once again at the forefront of the Red Robins attack with the former tallying 21 points and 10 assists while the latter got 19 points and 12 boards.
The Builders dropped to 2-3 for seventh place while Batang Kankaloo fell to 1-3 for eighth in the 10-team leg.
In the Luzon Leg held at the same venue, Datzluv-Sta. Cruz remained perfect in four games, escaping upset-seeking Bulacan, 82-79.
Sta. Cruz leaned on the trio of Geo Argonza (20 points), Jasper Matienzo (18 points, six assists, and five boards), and Andrei Lobos (11 points) to secure the victory down the stretch.
Jaspher Delos Reyes led Bulacan’s gallant stand with 21 points and eight rebounds while Jacob Malangen chipped in 18 points and seven boards but it was not enough as Batang Lakan fell to 1-3.
The other Luzon Leg tilt saw Quezon rout Calamba City, 87-66, to rise to 3-1 for solo third. The Patriots fell to 2-4.
Kyle Soriano made a sensational Quezon debut, dropping 20 points and 14 rebounds.
