Petron Goldberry makes finals

The defending titleholders Petron Goldberry made their way to the championship round in Division A of the 20th Sacred Heart Ateneo Alumni Basketball Athletic Association (SHAABAA) Cup after they handed the Cebu Landmasters a 65-61 loss and complete a sweep of their best-of-three semifinals series on Wednesday at the Ateneo de Cebu basketball courts along Mango Avenue.
Leigh Dixon, Dave Ting and Ed Macasling took turns puncturing the Landmasters defense to build a sizable lead in the first three periods before hanging on to the victory in the face of a fierce comeback try by the latter in the fourth.
Dixon paced the veteran squad with 15 while Ting, a crafty sharpshooting guard, added 14. Macasling pitched in 12.
With their offense clicking and their defense giving the Landmasters fits, Petron Goldberry zoomed ahead, 52-35, after the first 30 minutes of action.
Though the Landmasters outscored them, 26-13, in the final frame, the comeback fell way short, giving Petron Goldberry the first finals berth.
They will, however, have to wait and see who their opponent will be after the RDAK Stallions routed the Bayfront Hotel Cebu, 62-40, in Game 2 to tie their series up at 1-1 and send it to a winner-take-all Game 3 slated this Sunday at the Magis Eagles Arena in Canduman, Mandaue City.
After suffering an embarrassing Game 1 loss to Bayfront, the Stallions came in prepared and unleashed hell upon their opponents, leading by 17, 28-11, after the first canto before raising it to 20, 40-20, at halftime. Jair Igna typified the Stallions’ determination to tie the series up as he tallied 16 points while Arvid Ong added 12.
In Division B, Dynamic Power fought back to knot the best-of-three finals series up at 1-1 with a hard-fought 54-51 win over the reigning champions RDAK Transporters.
Walter Ong led the charge with 12 points while Melvin Tan, Roderick Mangubat and Erwin Ngo combined for 23.
The deciding Game 3 will be played, also this Sunday at the aforementioned venue.