By Jerome Lagunzad
Game Today
(Batangas City Coliseum)
7:30 p.m. – Batangas City vs Muntinlupa
(Game 1, best-of-five finals)
Unheralded Dhon Reverente provided the spark off the bench as host Muntinlupa fought back from a 14-point deficit and repeated over visiting Parañaque, 81-70, on Tuesday night to forge an intriguing finals clash with Batangas City for the inaugural Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Anta Rajah Cup crown.
Egged on by a jampacked crowd inside the Muntinlupa Sports Complex, the third-ranked Cagers recovered from a sluggish start behind the exploits of Reverente then dominated the seventh-seeded Patriots down the stretch in their sudden-death semifinals showdown.
Former pro Chito Jaime led all scorers with 22 points, spiked by four triples, while former Mapua star Allan Mangahas collected 18 points, six rebounds and five assists.
However, it was Reverente who emerged as the unlikely source of production in Muntinlupa’s big follow-up to its all-important 66-56 in Game 2 over the weekend.
Reverente finished with a double-double of 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, giving the Cagers a much-needed boost after trailing by as many as 14 at 34-48 early in the third period.
With the impressive victory, Muntinlupa earned the right to face top seed Batangas City in the best-of-five titular showdown starting tonight at the Batangas City Coliseum.
Harold Arboleda paced the Patriots with 18 points while skipper Jemal Vicarra added 17 points, but the scoring duo of Jong Baloria and Gab Dagangon combined for just 19 points on 8-of-21 shooting clip, no thanks to the Cagers’ stifling defense.
Undersized big man Felix Apreku anchored the lane with game-highs of 16 rebounds, seven of them from the offensive end, and three blocks on top of 11 points to help Muntinlupa’s cause.
Meanwhile, Team Makati became the newest expansion club in the fast-growing regional cage league, upping the participating teams to 16 for the next conference.
