By Jerome Lagunzad
Games Today
(Muntinlupa Sports Complex)
7 p.m. – Valenzuela vs Batangas
9 p.m. – Parañaque vs Muntinlupa
Host Batangas City continued its dominance while Parañaque sustained its giant-killing ways on Thursday night to close in on the 2018 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Anta Rajah Cup finals.
Cheered on by a huge hometown crowd inside the Batangas City Coliseum, the top-seeded Athletics overcame the loss of two vital cogs and leaned on another balanced attack to foil the fourth-ranked Valenzuela Classic, 80-75, at the start of their best-of-three semifinals series.
University of the East product Paul Varilla tallied 17 points while former pro Val Acuña added 15 points and Bong Quinto had 13 for Batangas City, which lost big men Alfie Grimaldo and Adi Santos to ejection for figuring in a physical altercation with Valenzuela forward Ford Ruaya in the opening minutes.
“I’m really expecting that (kind of physicality) because this is a dogfight. They’re also hungry (to come up with a win),” said Athletics coach Mac Tan, whose wards took control early on with a 30-8 start and kept their rivals at bay from then on.
Not to be outdone were the seventh-seeded Patriots, who pulled the rug from under the third-ranked Muntinlupa Cagers with a dominant 84-59 victory in the other semis pairing.
Former San Beda guard Ryusie Koga proved on target this time with 24 points, spiked by four triples, on top of eight assists and four rebounds while Gab Dagangon added 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocks to help Parañaque sustain its newfound confidence after eliminating No. 2 Bulacan Kuyas in the quarterfinals.
