Goto Pilipinas was crowned the Next5Hoops Metro Manila Intermediate Division Champions as they pulled out a 108-105 victory over Gangster last December 17, 2017, at the Phenom Sports Center in Makati.
CJ Carandang powered his team with 33 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Leklek Torre was equally superb with 23 points and 7 boards. Torre was also critical on the defensive end, as he racked up 5 steals.
With the win, Goto Pilipinas earned themselves a trip to Boracay.
Goto Pilipinas controlled the fourth quarter, even enjoying a lead as high as 12 points, 106-94, with 2:16 left in the game. Gangster would make one last attempt to steal the game as they were able to cut the lead to a single point with seven seconds left on the clock.
A pair of Carandang free throws gave his team a three-point lead and Torre delivered the game-winning block to seal the win.
Esteban top-scored for Gangster with 31 points off the bench. Andy Tubera meanwhile had a huge double-double of 24 points and 18 rebounds.
Goto Pilipinas were coming off an 88-79 semifinals win against the 3W Builders the day before. In that contest, it was Art Andres who served as the hero for his squad, posting 35 points on 13-for-20 shooting.
Goto shut down the 3W Builders to a horrible shooting day. 3W Builders only managed 35 percent from the floor, including 1-for-13 from beyond the arc.
Gangster was able to make into the finals thanks to a huge win over DECA 8990, 92-84, in the semifinals. Tubera also garnered a double-double performance with 28 points and 13 boards. Gangster used a pivotal 25-12 scoring output in the final ten minutes to earn them a ticket to the championship round.
Meanwhile in the Recreational Division, DECA 8990 was named champions as they came out victorious over Yokohama, 105-97, on December 17.
Nano Alvarado spearheaded his team with 41 points, shooting 18-for-34 from the field, to go along with 17 rebounds. Jan Jan Posada was right behind him with a 26-point, 11-rebound production. Buboy Barnedo meanwhile shot an efficient 70 percent shooting clip to tally 17 points, including two triples.
Down 72-84 at the start of the fourth period, DECA 8990 used a late rally to come out victorious. They opened the final frame on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to just four points with eight minutes to go. They finally tasted the lead, 91-90, on a Joshua Palacio three-pointer with roughly five minutes left.
Both teams went back-and-forth, but DECA 8990 was finally able to separate themselves in the last two minutes. A bucket by Randell Chua made it 99-97, and DECA 8990 never looked back as Yokohama failed to score in the end.
For Yokohama, Dan Geraldo had 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in a losing effort. JR Mendoza chipped in with 26 points, 8 boards, and 6 dimes.
Only 5 players suited up for Yokohama, who had a 30-19 edge after the first quarter. Unfortunately, they would run out of steam by the final frame.
Yokohoma had 11 triples but was manhandled in the shaded area. DECA 8990 proved to be too much as they had a 53-35 rebounding edge and had 70 points inside the paint.
