THE LOWER seeded 1997 Ronins and the 2001 Lite Shipping pulled the rug from under their top-ranked opponents as they gained the upper hand in the best-of-three semifinals in the University of San Carlos NABC Summer League Powered by Common Ground 2 last Sunday at the USC North Campus gym.
The Lite Shipping took down the top-seeded 1998 Sipat, 69-63, while the 1997 Ronins upset the second-seeded 1999ers.
The combination of Conrad Plando and AJ San Juan proved to be too potent for the defense of Sipat to handle as the duo combined for 46 points as Batch 2001 took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three affair.
The Ronins’ Jake Saturinas was a one-man wrecking crew as he tallied 22 points, seven rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in helping his batch draw first blood in the intensely fought match that was marred by a fight.
When the dust cleared, 1997’s Christian Navia and 1999’s Tope Osorio got ejected from the game and were facing sanctions from the league.