Pierre Mella (left) of Core Pacific Group and GMall of Cebu’s Tonyson Luther Lee (right). | SHAABAA photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Core Pacific Group and GMall of Cebu will clash in the Division A finals of the 27th season of the Sacred Heart Ateneo Alumni Basketball Athletic Association (SHAABAA).
The much-awaited Best-of-Three finals series kicks off on Sunday, August 4, at 2:30 p.m. at the Magis Eagles Arena in Mandaue City.
Core Pacific Group enters the finals with an impressive unbeaten streak, having dominated the competition throughout the season.
READ: BATCH 2021 stuns Batch 2013 in SHAABAA Season 27’s ‘battle of unbeaten teams’
Their path to the finals was solidified with a lopsided 118-38 victory over Yangtze Ice in the semifinals on July 21.
GMall of Cebu also showcased their dominance with a decisive 83-39 win against 2KCares.org in their semifinal matchup.
READ: Core Pacific Group sweeps Division A, clinches top spot in final four
Core Pacific Group will be counting on their top performers — Afshin Ghassemi, Jeremy Ryan Huang, Pierre Mella, and Johannes Chua — who were instrumental in their semifinal success.
On the other hand, GMall of Cebu will rely on their standout players Paulsen Uy, Andrew Erazo, Tonyson Luther Lee, and John Paul Go to challenge Core Pacific in the finals series.
READ: SHAABAA introduces league-wide changes for Season 27
Before the SHAABAA Division A finals tip off, Yangtze Ice and 2KCares.org will battle for third place at 1 p.m.
DO-OR-DIE SEMIS
In addition to the Division A finals, two pivotal semifinal matchups will unfold on Sunday.
In Division B, ’04 For the Win-Batch 2004 will face off against ZLREJ Trading & Construction-Batch 2010 in a do-or-die game.
SHAABAA’s Batch 2010 recently erased Batch 2004’s twice-to-beat advantage with a 70-49 victory on July 21. The decisive game is set at 4 p.m.
Division C will feature Xchange Forex-Batch 2018, who kept their finals hopes alive with a 69-60 win over Cebu Landmasters/CloudKart-Batch 2014, also denying the latter their twice-to-beat edge.
The crucial semifinal game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Batch 2010’s Jasper Diaz, Gabe Branzuela, and Joseph Zozobrado will lead their team against Batch 2004’s Christopher Consunji and Ervin Lopena.
In the SHAABAA’s Division C matchup, Benedict Andre Chua will spearhead Batch 2018’s efforts against Batch 2014, supported by Eroll Pastor and Lyder Kent Canieso. Batch 2014, meanwhile, will rely on their strong lineup featuring Lucky Ecarma, Gio Laguyo, Jair Edrei Igna, and Popoy Navarro.