DECA 8990 and 3W Builders arranged a date in the Finals of the Next5Hoops Metro Manila 2nd South Leg Qualifier – Intermediate Division after thrilling victories last March 19.
It wasn’t an easy road to the championship round for both DECA 8990 and 3W Builders, who are also finalists in the 1st leg of the tournament, after surviving close encounters beginning in the quarterfinals.
3W Builders withstood Augustea, 79-64, to make it to the last round again this season.
The 1st South Leg Qualifier bridemaids hung tough amid Augustea’s attempt for a comeback, never letting the other side come closer than three points in the payoff period.
The tandem of Exequel Panares and Jepoy Vito Cruz kept 3W Builders afloat as they finished with 19 and 16 points, respectively, and combined four nine rebounds.
In the playoffs, 3W Builders slipped past Picole Coffee, 81-79, on two crucial freethrows to enter the semis.
It was a sorry loss for Augustea, which beat Aling Lucy’s 100-83 in the quarterfinals, after failing to recover from its poor first half performance vs 3W Builders.
Meanwhile, DECA 8990 took down Pound 4 Pound Dasma, 78-68.
DECA 8990, the 1st leg’s champions, outscored P4P Dasma at every turn, leading by as many as 13 points early in the fourth quarter.
Before P4P Dasma, DECA 8990 also booted out another heavyweight in Pound 4 Pound Fitness in the quarterfinals, 78-75.
But in the semis, DECA 8990 controlled the game from the get-go thanks in large part to Ryan Rosas, Eugene Madera and Jarics Lopez.
Rosas paced DECA 8990 with a game-high 20 points off the bench while Madera and Lopez had 16 markers apiece with the former hauling down 18 boards.
P4P Dasma, which got into the semis by way of a 91-78 win over Triple 8, just couldn’t get anything going, not after it was sorely outrebounded, 35-60.
