| .
Escelroof Edges Cobra
(March 24, 2010)
Game Tomorrow
(The Arena, San Juan)
3 p.m. Pharex B-Complex vs Excelroof
Excelroof knows that facing a star-studded
team like Cobra Energy Drink is no easy task.
But the Excelroof 25ers proved one thing
– they’re equal to the task at hand.
That was best typified by Carl Abueva
who dished out another sterling performance to lift
Excelroof to a pulsating 81-75 victory and into the
finals of the 2010 PBL PG Flex-Erase Placenta Cup yesterday
at the San Juan gym.
The 6-foot-2 Abueva scattered 13of his
17 points in the payoff period to lead Excelroof’s
mighty charge to beat for the second straight time the
No. 2 seed Cobra Ironmen.
With the win, Excelroof forged a best-of-three
finals showdown with the well-rested Pharex B-Complex
starting tomorrow at The Arena in San Juan.
"Although we have the championship
experience, iba pa din yung collegiate sa PBL, so hopefully
makagawa namin yung game plan sa finals," said
coach Ato Agustin. "Masayang masaya ako at naka-finals
ulit."
“This is a well-deserved win for
the boys, they really persevered and worked hard to
reach this stage,” said team manager Oliver Gianan,
who also thanked team owner Edwin C. Chua for his all-out
support to the team.
“We hope our run will not end here,”
added Gianan.
Abueva, who also had 13 rebounds, produced
the game's biggest play when he scored on a tough play
and drew a foul from Marvin Hayes to extend the 25ers'
lead to 78-75 with 41.7 seconds to play.
Though he muffed the bonus shot, Cobra
failed to score in the next play as Jai Reyes' possible
game-tying 3-point attempt clanged out of the rim. After
that miscue, the former Ateneo star got the possession
and had another chance to score from rainbow area, but
the this time, he was blocked by Abueva.
Abueva got hold of the rebound but was
fouled by Mark Fampulme with 18 ticks to go.
Abueva sank both charities to put his
team up 80-75 and Cobra's desperation shots failed to
hit the mark.
"Masaya ako kay Calvin dahil na-control
niya yung sarili niya sa game na 'to at pag nasa loob
siya makikita mo yung intensity," Agustin said
of Abueva, one of the key players in San Sebastian's
NCAA win over San Beda last October.
NCAA Finals MVP Jimbo Aquino topscored
with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting while adding six
rebounds in 33 minutes while point guard Pamboy Raymundo
also shone as usual with 11 points, eight assists, five
rebounds.
Paul Lee had 19 points, three rebounds,
four assists and two steals for the Ironmen and was
responsible for tying the game at 66-all with 3:55 left.
Reyes had 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting
from the trifectaville but former UAAP scoring champion
Patrick Cabahug was held to just 13 points.
A big letdown was forward Pari Llagas
who was limited to just seven points after averaging
close to 20 points in the team’s last three games.
The Ironmen fell to their third consecutive
semifinal series loss. They had the advantage entering
the series with a twice-to-beat advantage but Excelroof
forced a rubber match with an 89-81 win last Saturday.
|
Custom Search