Shogun, EXL, Vinta Victors and P4P Fitness barged into the semifinals of the Next5Hoops Metro Manila 2nd South Leg Qualifier after close encounters last March 4.
No one from the semifinal bound team won by more than 10 points and were mostly decided in the last minute of action.
P4P Fitness fended off Tunesquad, 82-78, seemingly setting the tone for the day.
Buoyed by a strong start, P4P Fitness held on to the lead for the rest of the game but couldn’t build a lead of more than 15 points.
Madrelejos exploded for 28 points that went with 11 rebounds for P4P Fitness, which got more from its bench players than Tunesquad.
Tunesquad drew 22 points from Ryan Rueda in a losing effort.
Meanwhile, EXL escaped with a 79-76 win over Footsteps Hauz to join P4P in the Final Four.
EXL, which neutralized’s Footsteps Hauz’ inside game with hot shooting, went on an 8-3 run in the final minute to capture the victory.
Celadeña churned out 32 points including seven of EXL’s nine triples in the game. He also had six rebounds and five assists.
Footsteps Hauz led in rebounds, 62-51, points in the paint, 46-38, and second chance points, 20-7, despite the loss.
Vinta Victors also leaned on clutch plays to beat SSBC, 77-73.
A 6-0 run in the final 58 seconds sealed the win for Vinta Victors, which trailed by as much as nine points with under three minutes to go.
Four players wound up in double digit points for Vinta Victors namely John Garcia (17), Dan de Guzman (16), Lui Magallanes (13) and Marc Banlaygas (13).
It was a sorry loss for SSBC and topscorer Julius Jose, who had a monster performance of 28 points and 28 rebounds.
In the lone game played on March 5, Shogun likewise slipped past Schoolmate, 77-73.
A run in the last minute also sealed the game with Shogun going on a six-to-nothing roll to escape with the semifinals-clinching victory.
Justine Lopez was unstoppable for Shogun as he registered a staggering 37 points and 19 rebounds.
