By Jerome Lagunzad
Games Today
(Batangas City Coliseum)
7 p.m. – Muntinlupa vs Parañaque
9 p.m. – Valenzuela vs Batangas City
Parañaque and Valenzuela pulled off big victories against their respective quarterfinals rivals on Tuesday night to make it to the Final Four round of the 2018 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Anta Rajah Cup at the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium.
The seventh-seeded Patriots silenced the hometown crowd as they repeated over the second-ranked Bulacan Kuyas, 77-70, to complete the tournament’s biggest reversal.
Former pro Jong Baloria picked up from where he left off in their 81-54 victory in Game 2 as he finished with 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench, helping Parañaque set the tone early on while keeping Bulacan at bay majority of the way.
Harold Arboleda had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds while Ryusei Koga and Jemal Vizcarra added 10 points each for the Patriots, who ran the flat-footed Kuyas into the ground with their quickness and speed.
“Nakita ko ‘yung Bulacan hindi sila makakasabay sa amin sa takbuhan. Ganun lang ka-simple ang gameplan namin,” said Parañaque coach Aric del Rosario, whose wards will next take on No. 3 Muntinlupa in the best-of-three semis starting tonight at the Batangas City Coliseum.
Not to be outdone were the fourth-ranked Classic, who got back at the fifth-seeded Quezon City Capitals, 74-72, behind a big defensive stop by former pro Paolo Hubalde in the dying seconds.
