Manila Metrostars, Pampanga’s Pride arrange finals showdown

 

 

 

 

“Manila Metrostars’ forward Mardie Lim scores one over Mindoro’s Michael Paderes and Jeffrey Justiniano in this semifinal action in the PIBAQ 3rd Ambassador Cup. Manila prevailed, 71-70, and will face Pampanga who won over Batangas, 81-71, in the finals on Friday”.

By Danotzki Santos
Pics by: Ronnie Castro

 

DOHA:The Manila Metrostars pulled out a Houdini-act in the dying seconds and escaped with a 71-70 squeaker over the Mindoro L Arc En Ciel while Pampanga’s Pride dumped the fighting Batangas Barakos squad, 81-71, in a pair of grueling semifinals matches early in the week on the road to the championships of the Pinoy Basketball in Qatar (PIBAQ) 3rd Ambassador Cup 2014 which will be held this coming Friday at the Al Gharafa Training Gym.

With the game tied at 70-all and barely a fraction of a second left in the game clock, Sandie Limin was fouled on his attempt to the basket and cashed in on the scond of two gift shots to register the game-clinching solitary point that sent Manila to the finals against Pampanga.

The game was tight throughout, characterized by 7 deadlocks and 12 lead changes, as Filipino basketball stalwarts led by red shirts’ Mardie and Sandie Limin, and Mindoro’s Ronnie Cajayon and Michael Paderes, played their hearts out and led their respective squads to a heads-up semifinal battle and a crack at one of the berths to the finals of the most coveted PIBAQ league championship.

On one hand, Pampanga played steadier in the homestretch to quell a last ditch stand by Batangas to forge the win and snare the last ticket to the finals.

From a 71-59 advantage with 1:21 remaining in the match, the Barakos crawled back and engaged the northerners in an end game exchange at the stripe to preserve time before succumbing to a 10-point at the buzzer.

The winner-take-all championship game will be played at 10:30 am on Friday, following the battle-for-third place between Mindoro and Batangas at 9:00 am and will be graced by the Philippine Ambassador to Qatar HE Crescente Relacion.

A tribute to the Philippine Ambassador, the league is organised in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Qatar and the United Filipino Organizations in Qatar (UFOQ).

Also called McDonald's Qatar inter-province tournament, the eight-week tournament is sponsored by Travelex Qatar, Boracay Filipino Restaurants, Arabian Gulf Logistics Supplies, Power Horse, Alicafe, Diana Jewellery & Watches, EzRemit  and aims to generate funds for the victims of Typhoon (Yolanda) Haiyan.




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