Laguna clinches last semis seat

  Laguna/Twinkle/Erika’s was seven minutes away from elimination, but managed to save its season following a 102-70 trouncing of VisMinda/Civic Boys during the lone game played in the 2012 UFO Masters Budweiser Cup last Sunday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Laguna was one man short when the opening buzzer sounded, as only Sonny Ebuen, Henry Manipon, Erlan Lansang, and Dindo Pablo arrived for the game. Laguna was then given a 15-minute default time and seven minutes before the extension lapsed Warren Villegas joined the depleted crew.

Villegas went on to sizzle for 32 points, matching the output of Ebuen. The three other Laguna players also finished in double figures in a no-relief job to score past the century mark and march into the semifinals against Bayani/LBT Appraisal.

Ebuen got to work early for Laguna, firing 15 of his total markers in the opening canto for their 26-23 lead. VisMinda kept pace with Laguna behind the 11 markers of Bobby Geli.

However, Geli was held to only one field goal in the second period and VisMinda, instead of pushing up the tempo of the game to wear down the five-man crew of Laguna, they slowed things down and paid the price for the gamble. Laguna was able to stretch the lead to 7 at the break, 46-39, as it still outgunned VisMinda in the second canto, 20-16, with the former’s five players contributing on offense.

After the needed halftime breather, surprisingly it was Laguna that picked up the pace of the game in the third period with Villegas walking away with fastbreak shots and scoring 12 markers in that quarter alone. He was just 4 points shy of matching VisMinda’s total output (16) to give Laguna a double-digit lead after the third, 72-55. Again, Geli struggled in the third canto, making only 4 points and the rest of his teammates failed to step up and capitalize on the shorthanded Laguna team.

Fatigue then finally caught up with Laguna in the fourth quarter and it was forced to slow down the tempo. However, Laguna had nothing to worry about slowing things down, as the win was already in the bag with its lead ballooning to 20-plus points midway in the final canto.

With the victory, Laguna has a chance for a finals berth and will battle Bayani in the second semis match tomorrow at 8pm. Defending champion MDX/Armatech duels Batangas/Fong’s Bakery in the first semis tiff at 6:30pm. Batangas got a free ride to the semis after a win via forfeiture over MAFEA/CMI in the first game last Sunday.

Laguna/Twinkle/Erika’s 102 – Ebuen 32, Villegas 32, Manipon 13, Lansang 13, Pablo 12.

VisMinda/Civic Boys 70 – Geli 22, Miguel 14, Quemado 8, Santos 8, Faustino 8, Sevilla 4, Olfindo 4.

Scoring by quarters: 26-23, 46-39, 72-56, 102-70.

By Roselyn Monroyo
Reporter