They might have missed a finals seat but the Hanpa Cardinals settled for third place honors beating the Jaguars, 83-80 Sunday in the Filipino Basketball League (FBL) at the Palau National gym.

The Cardinals started hot but got sloppy in the first quarter of action as they managed to get a 21-20 breather. Then they managed to outscore the Jaguars in the second via 20-14 as they closed the first half of action with a 41-34 advantage.

Despite the run by the Jaguars in the final canto, the Cardinals managed to hold their ground as they went for the win. Omar Sismaet topscored for the Cardinals as he normed 34 points while teammates Atom Cabuso and Dennis Gonzales chipped in 19 and 12 baskets, respectively.

On the other hand, four Jaguars finished in double digits but was not enough to fire them up as they finished their season in fourth place fashion in Division B. Gener Aguinaldo led the scoring chores with 18 as teammates Jover Molina, Roy Atacador and Rolly Jardenazo tallied 17, 13 and 11, in that order.

League officials announced Sunday that the Finals for both Division A and B will be moved on April 27 starting at 1 p.m.

Game One of the best of three finals for Division B will open the games with Liquid Skyy Dragons taking on Rams while Surangel Stars will face the Ilocandia Bulls in their own championship series in Division A at 3 p.m.

The Filipino Basketball League (FBL) is under the supervision of the Palau Basketball Federation (PBF). By Peter Erick L. Magbanua (Island Times News)