Consolacion clinched the championship in the Cocolife Pilipinas Super League (PSL) Powered by Smart 5G U21 Aspirants’ Division Invitational Cup after they trounced Roxas, 73-66, in Game Two of the best-of-three Finals on Thursday evening at the Manuel A. Roxas Sports Complex in Roxas, Zamboanga Del Norte.
Both teams started the game slowly as they went scoreless in the final two minutes of the first quarter and settled for a 13-all tie at the end of the period.
In the second quarter, however, Consolacion surged ahead, outscoring Roxas, 23-12, to enter halftime with a 36-25 lead. The Sarok Weavers ended the second period on a 16-4 run within the final four and a half minutes.
The Sarok Weavers stretched their lead to as high as 19 points in the third quarter, the first instance was at 44-25 with just under eight minutes left in the period.
The Vanguards rallied in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead down to just four, 58-54, with 4:16 remaining in the game, but the Sarok Weavers fired a 6-0 run right after to stretch the lead back to 10, 64-54, with 1:58 left.
Roxas tried to continue their endgame heroics by making another mini-run of five unanswered points to trim the gap to six, 66-61, with 58 seconds to go.
But Gyle Montano, who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the tournament, and fellow Mythical Five member Rojan Montemayor scored crucial free throws down the stretch to help seal the title for Consolacion.
Montemayor had a monster game to lead the Sarok Weavers, finishing with 20 points and 21 rebounds alongside one assist. He bettered his performance in Game 1 the previous night, where he tallied 20 boards, 10 markers, and one dime, and his Game 2 outburst helped him claim the Finals MVP award.
Montano added 17 points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal.
Randolph Lacquio made 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, and three steals to lead Roxas, which failed to win it all despite being the host of the entire tournament.
What’s next for the PSL U21 Aspirants Division? PSL president Rocky Chan said that bigger battles are coming very soon.
“We have bigger plans ahead for the league. We will be launching the regular season of our under-21 division this coming end of May, so abangan niyo. It will be Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao,” Chan said.
The Scores:
Consolacion 73 – Montemayor 20, Montano 17, Flores 11, Taburnal 7, Dalumpines 5, Robles 4, Maglasang 3, Alilin 3, Chavez 3, Malazarte 0, Sabanal 0, Gonzaga 0
Roxas 66 – Lacquio 16, Tizon 13, Lacaya 13, De Guzman 10, Rivera 6, Tumogsok 6, Akut 1, Cabalida 1, Dingal 0, Jardin 0
Quarterscores: 13-13, 36-25, 54-42, 73-66
