MIGS advances to finals

MIGS punched the first finals ticket in the Inaugural 2008 PILCOWA-San Miguel Beer Basketball League, while Diamond Auto Care forced a rubber match for the second finals berth after downing separate foes Wednesday at the CIC Centre Basketball Court in Garapan.

MIGS outlasted Century Insurance Company, 94-87, to advance to the title game, while Diamond edged C&R Distibutor/NRG, 106-98, in the other playoff match.

Century Insurance absorbed its second defeat in the playoffs thus it was booted out of the tournament. MIGS won all its three games, beating San Miguel Light and Diamond in the first two playoff matches.

After bowing to MIGS Monday night, Diamond was put in a must-win situation against NRG, which prevailed over Century and needed only a win to advance to the finals.

But Diamond found a new lease of life and denied NRG an early entry to finals. Diamond foiled NRG’s finals bid despite having a depleted crew. The Boy Garcia-mentored squad played with only six players.

Elmer Esdrelon and Sonny Ranola filled the void left by Diamond’s other offensive threats, as the deadly duo finished with 31 big points apiece.

NRG was heavily favored against Diamond having posted a huge win over Century. But too much confidence against a depleted Diamond and lost of focus due to frequent complaints in officiating brought NRG down.

Diamond entered the final one minute of the match with a 102-95 lead. NRG had a chance to move within five, but Badong Camacho muffed an undergoal stab. NRG coach Marvin Deocares and the rest of his players thought Camacho was fouled and started to complain, while Diamond was on its offensive set.

With the botched play still hounding NRG, it forgot to buckle down on defense allowing Elmer Esdrelon to make an open triple that increased Diamond’s lead to 10, 105-95, with 25 seconds remaining on the game.

Deocares continued to argue a non-foul call on their offensive attack and had a verbal tussle with Fyke Sabino, who had heard enough and charged the NRG coach a technical foul.

That sealed the doom for NRG, as Esdrelon split the technical free throws and Diamond got the possession back.

Mel Capalad drilled a triple with four seconds left in the game to peg the final score.

Diamond and NRG collided anew last night to earn the right to face MIGS in the finals tomorrow.

MIGS recovered from a third-quarter collapse and held Century to only four field goals and 11 points in the payoff period.

Century grabbed the lead entering the final canto, 76-67, after trailing most of the way in the first half, as the pennant champions outscored MIGS in the third canto, 36-22.

Bing Marasigan led CIC’s rally in the third, firing 13 points, including four straight free throws off an Ernie Moises unsportsmanlike foul in the last one second of that period.

CIC was still ahead by two, 78-76, with less than eight minutes left in the final period, when Cadagat made a triple from the left key to regain the lead.

He hit another one from the right key after a few plays, and Sonny Lerio canned his own trey from the same spot where Cadagat made his second triple of the quarter.

In a span of two minutes, MIGS drilled three triples and a layup from Banjo Basila against Larry Palero’s lone free throw allowed MIGS to take an 87-79 lead, with less than three minutes left on the clock.

Century went only 2-for-6 from the stripe in the last two minutes of the game preventing the team from completing a comeback.

Jawn Joyner, who was usually reliable from the 15-foot line missed both charities, which could have move Century within four.

Palero, who had 11 points in the third period scoring most of his points inside, had limited touches in the fourth, went 2-for-4 from the free throw area and was without a field goal.

Marasigan had only two points, while Wowie Abuel nailed a triple—his lone basket in the fourth—in the last three seconds of the match.

Only Gil Gapor made more than one field goal for Century in the fourth period and his baskets came then MIGS had already regained control of the match and was a few minutes away from making a finals appearance in the inaugural caging.
[B] MIGS 94[/B]—Bernardo 30, Cadagat 24, Basila 13, Demapan 11, Lerio 11, Moises 5.