It was a fitting end to Sitel’s dominant season.
After finishing the elimination round on top, Sitel also came out with the BPO Classics Recreational Plus crown after a hard-fought 73-69 victory over Arriva Medical last Sunday.
Sitel, which had a 5-1 card in the elims, had to withstand a last ditch rally from third seed Arriva Medical before claiming championship.
From a 10-point lead with eight minutes to play, Sitel saw its lead dwindle to 3 with 28 seconds left but a split from the line from Angelo Balbuena made it a two possession game.
Sitel, which trailed early in the game before taking the lead for good with 4:32 left in the second period, pounced on Arriva Medical’s sloppy play with a 20-2 edge in points off turnovers.
Eugene Velo led Sitel with a game-best 24 points while Balbuena added 15 points, four rebounds and six assists off the bench.
Ronald Mallari and Ralph Villas had 13 and 11 points, respectively, for Sitel.
Despite its 24 turnovers that proved to be costly in the end, Arriva Medical stayed toe-to-toe with Sitel and led by five early in the second period largely because of its huge advantage in rebounding, 55-42.
Genard Barairo and Raymon Papa, who gave them their largest lead, 16-11, accounted for 25 of Arriva Medical’s total output on the glass as they also combined for 26 points.
Ed Leonardo Salvador paced Arriva Medical in the bridesmaid finish with 16 markers.
Joseph Carlos added 10 markers while Tristan Villareal had four points and eight boards.
