Merbien Inigo rises up for a floater against the defense of H&G Gonzales. | contributed photo
Cebu City, Philippines—H&G Gonzales took over in the fourth canto to best Nat’s Fish Crackers, 95-83, and advance to the semifinal round of the Metro Cebu Basketball League on Sunday, July 7, 2019, at the City Sports Club-Cebu basketball court.
H&G Gonzales was up by just five, 77-72, when they uncorked 12 unanswered points led by Albert Echevarria, Junrie Hoybia and Noel Torrefiel to erect an 89-72 lead with just 3:49 to go.
Jake Esperanza led the way for H&G with 15 points, Echevarria had 14, Mark Gonzales put up 12, Hoybia added 11 while Torrefiel chipped in 10 for the winning side.
Also advancing to the semifinals were Air 22, the XS Giants and the Hotshots 5.0.
The Hotshots razed a 12-point deficit in the fourth to oust the Anak Sangat SBC, 105-100. The Hotshots trailed 65-77, 11 seconds into the fourth but made their comeback and eventually grab the lead, 101-100, after free-throws made by Junryl Gillera, with 57 seconds left.
Turnovers and missed shots by Anak Sangat led to more made free-throws by Gillera in the final seconds to seal the win for the Hotshots.
Rickymhar Berdin led the way for the Hotshots with 35 points while Rex Tuazon put up 27 points and 10 boards. Gillera ended up with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Air 22 beat Highland BBQ, 83-78, as Clint Florido scored 24 points and hauled down 13 rebounds. The XS Giants on the other hand, trumped Boss Kalo, 75-67, led by Esrom Cuizon’s 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. /bmjo