Sitel, Microsourcing, Shell Business Operations and PSG Global Solutions all moved closer to the final round after their respective close victories over the weekend in the 2016 BPO Classics Recreational Division.
The winners per group in the first semifinal round will face off in a crossover Final 4 next Sunday to determine who will square off for the championship.
No. 1 ranked Sitel hung tough in the payoff period and disposed of Ammex, 86-79, in the Group B semis to advance to the next round.
Sitel B, which drew 30 big points and 17 rebounds from starter Jayvee Castillo, couldn’t shake off Ammex for good but pulled away at a safe distance in the payoff period.
A bucket from Castillo off a miss by Allen Gomez with over four minutes left gave Sitel B the upperhand the rest of the day.
Ammex came back from 12 points down with the help of Jack de Joya and John Paul Jocson but just couldn’t sustain its fightback against Sitel B.
Joya and Jocson combined for 40 points for the fourth-seeded Ammex.
Meanwhile, Microsourcing slipped past QBE in a hardfought 81-74 triumph to be the other team from Group B to make it to the crossover semis.
Microsourcing survived a comeback from QBE, which tied the game at 73 with 1:38 left to play, and push the lead to seven and set the final score.
Enwel Luna and Daniel Martin Cataros chipped in 18 points apiece for Microsourcing, which sorely outrebounded QBE, 57-30.
In group A, top team SBO also knocked out the last seeded Personiv with a come-from-behind victory, 61-53, for a slot in the semis.
Down by nine a minute into the fourth quarter, SBO went on a 24-7 tear to snatch the victory away and send the turnover-prone Personiv packing.
Royce de Guzman led SBO with 12 points and 13 boards, Billy Madero added 10 while Mark Pausanos poured all of his six points in the payoff period.
SBO turned Personiv’s 24 turnovers into 19 points while the latter only got five points off SBO’s 15 miscues.
PSG Global turned back Sitel A, 65-60, using an 14-4 run in the final four minutes to secure the other remaining berth in bracket A.
From a 56-51 deficit with 4:05 to play, PSG Global flipped the switch starting with a triple from Resty Abejuela and ending with clutch freethrows from JC Salvo.
Salvo finished with a team-best 18 points that went with seven rebounds, two assists and steals. William Celestial and Lord Abrigo also both had solid output with 13 points apiece.
