MDX/Armatech enters finals

MDX/Armatech clinched the second finals seat in the UFO Inter-Organization Masters Basketball Docomo Pacific Cup 2011 after thwarting VisMinda/PIAHI in their semis match, 76-68, on Thursday night at the TSL Sports Complex.

MDX will collide with defending champion Cabalen/Wings Travel for the masters crown next week.

VisMinda/PIAHI faltered on its bid to advance into the finals after falling behind by as much as 18 points in the fourth quarter and failing to complete a rally in the payoff period.

The two semifinalists had a close fight in the first half before MDX took a double-digit lead after the third period, 53-43. In the fourth quarter, MDX had an 8-0 start to stretch the advantage to 18, 61-43.

Ray Lizama then almost single-handedly tried to bring VisMinda back into the game, but each time he converted baskets, MDX found ways to answer and keep its distance. Ferdie Tobias canned most of those rally halting field goals, as he came off the bench in the fourth and drilled eight of his 10 points in that canto.

VisMinda made one final push to steal the game from MDX when it sliced the lead to seven off Lizama’s getaway layup, 68-75, with 1:03 left on the clock.

When MDX regained possession, VisMinda gave up three quick fouls to stop the clock, which read at 48.3 seconds. After VisMinda was called for its fourth team foul, it could not decide right away if it will give up one more. When it did, about 20 seconds on the clock were already gone by.

VisMinda’s fifth foul sent Ariel Jinang to the foul line and he missed both shots. However, he hustled for the loose ball after the long rebound and drew another foul, with 7.6 left on the clock. Jinang split his charities to put icing on the cake and move MDX to the finals.

Bernard Montano paced MDX with 17 points, while Toto Banatasa chipped in 12. Lizama led VisMinda with 24 markers.

The battle for the second and last finals berth ended in a deadlock after the first period, 15-all. Then MDX started gaining control of the match in the second canto behind the duo of Jinang and Montano, who combined for 14 points to lift their team to an eight-point lead at the break, 38-30.

In the second half, MDX drew contributions from other players, while VisMinda’s offense became unpredictable with Lizama almost always powering his way into the basket. He was successful most of the time, but still lacked support from his teammates. Junior Renguul finished 16 points, but had limited touches in the fourth, scoring only two markers. Abedes also tallied double figures with his 11 markers, but it was a far cry from his 24-point output in their playoff win over MAFEA/RNV last week and he was held to only a field goal in the final canto.

[B]MDX/Armatech 76[/B] – Montano 17, Banatasa 12, Tobias 10, Jinang 9, Trajano 7, Abuy 6, A. Crisostomo 5, Malasarte 4, Berline 4, P. Crisostomo 2.

[B]VisMinda/PIAHI 68[/B] – Lizama 24, Renguul 16, Abedes 11, Palacios 10, Ruluked 4, Gabaldon 1.

[B]Scoring by quarters[/B]: 15-15, 38-30, 53-43, 76-68.