THE 2002 Lions continued their stellar run through the playoffs of the University of San Carlos North Alumni Basketball Conference Summer League 2 Powered by Common Ground as they upset the second-seeded 2015 Assassins, 71-57, to barge into the Division 3 finals, last weekend at the USC North Campus gym.
Ranked sixth at the end of the elimination round, the Lions have played far above their seeding as they swept the Assassins in the best-of-three series, in dominant fashion to lock up the first finals spot.
Enrico Llanto was once again an unstoppable force for the Lions as he muscled his way to 36 points, an astounding 23 rebounds, two assists and three blocks while getting ample support from Paul Tagalog, Joel Dinawanao and Rafael Alcoseba.
The other semis match-up in Division 3 will go the distance as the 2010 Pioneers took advantage of an undermanned 2008 Flyboys squad to hack out a 67-54 win in Game 2 to tie the series up at 1-1.
JM Asotigue and Mike Rita did the most damage for the Pioneers as the former had 20 points and nine rebounds while the latter chipped in 15 markers, nine boards, four assists and two steals.
The Flyboys made do without the services of former USC Warriors captain Nico Magat and versatile guard NJ Otida. John Cabellon and Brian Negapatan led 2008 with 15 points each.