Photo Caption:   “Mabuhay Star Player Eric Tamayo”.

By Ailyn Agonia

Pics by Ronnie Castro

 

DOHA:  FOLLOWING a heated battle for championship title in 2010, old rivals Mabuhay Restaurant and One Family will come face-to-face for another championship bout in the conclusion of the 15th Pinoy Basketball in Qatar (Pibaq) for men-President Alvita Cup 2014 to be held at the Al Gharafa Training Gym on September 19.

The powerhouse teams earned their rights to compete in the best-of-3 championship series after defeating Palmeras TFCMI and Batang Sanna in a thriller semi-final round held recently.

Eric Tamayo once again saved the day for Mabuhay during its match against Palmeras which wrapped up with the final score of 83-79. Contributing 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals, Tamayo's efforts was also complemented by the hard work on the hard court of teammates Dugay and Caballero.

The trio cemented their victory by dominating throughout the game, even enjoying a 12-point edge in the third quarter. Calo of Palmeras, contributing 18 points, put forth his best efforts to bag the win for his team but Mabuhay's will to win overwhelmed them in the end.

Meanwhile, the league's defending champion One Family gave out a big sigh of relief after upsetting Batang Sanna by a single point to qualify for the championship round. The final score was 60-59.

Sanna was trailing behind One Family from the beginning of the match to the final quarter but by an insignificant margin. Until the dying minutes of the game, it was anybody's ball game.

The One Family trio Isip (18 points), Raagas (13 points) and Dumpit (13 points) battled it out against Sanna's Valledo (15 points), Odal (15 points) and Laher (10 points). In the end, the boys of Coach Sandie Limin just had to bow down to the team of Coach Noli Raagas with a very upsetting single point deficit.

Batang Sanna and Palmera will face in a battle for third place on Friday while Mabuhay Restaurant and One Family will try to outwit and outplay each other to bag their first win in the best-of-3 championship series.