The San Remegio Properties nabbed the top spot in Bracket A, thanks to a buzzer-beating lay-up by University of the Philippines standout Paul Desiderio that lifted them to a, 106-104 win over two-time defending champion Team Samsam Gullas in the Emil’s Fresh Chicken Cup on Wednesday night at the Minglanilla Sports Complex.
Down by eight, 92-100, with less than four minutes left in the game, San Remegio inched closer, 98-100, after Ralf Olivares and Desiderio scored the next six points.
A basket by Dennis Daa pushed Team Samsam’s lead to four, 102-98, but San Remegio was relentless and eventually tied the game at 102-all after a bucket by Alwyn Aguirre, 44 seconds remaining.
The two teams couldn’t get anything going after that but Desiderio, with the game winding down to the last six seconds, picked up a loose ball and went the length of the floor for the buzzer-beating game-winner.
Desiderio, ironically a former ace of the Gullas-owned University of the Visayas, finished with 25 points while Aguirre and Olivares, also ex-Green Lancers, had 18 and 15 points, respectively. San Remegio finished the elimination round with a 3-2 win-loss card and was battling Fighter Wine in the semifinals as of this writing.
SG-ARQ on the other hand, completed an unbeaten run through the elimination round with a 128-127 win over the ASPA Formworks. Six players scored in double figures for the Builders led by the 26 of Ferdinand Lusdoc and the 23 of Eman Calo.
SG-ARQ was playing Team Samsam in the semis, as of press time.
The battle for third place and the championship match will be held tonight at the same venue.
First Game:
SG-ARQ (128) – Lusdoc 26, Calo 23, Berame 18, Juntilla 17, Ababon 15, Abad 10, Tangkay 7, Sereno 6, Mondragon 6.
ASPA (127) – Castro 28, Dablo 22, Quilaton 19, Anfone 15, Linao 11, Ponce 11, Filoteo 9, Codilla 7, Dela Rama 3, Canete 2.
Second Game
San Remegio (106) – Desiderio 25, Aguirre 18, Olivares 15, Dimco 12, Lao 10, Regalado 7, Arong 7, Cincoflores 5, Taboada 3, C. Cortes 2.
Samsam (104) – Poligrates 28, Dennis Daa 23, Sanz 15, Canson 12, Collado 7, Aguilar 7, Dela Cerna 6, Gahi 4, Delator 2.