Games Today (San Andres Sports Complex)
4 p.m. – Las Piñas vs Taguig
5:30 p.m. – MMDA vs Makati
7:00 p.m. – Manila vs Caloocan
8:30 p.m. – Parañaque vs Pateros
Second seed San Juan outsteadied No. 7 Valenzuela, 88-86, while No. 5-ranked Navotas shocked No. 4 Marikina, 78-75, and advanced to the semifinals of the North Division in the 2017 Metro Basketball Tournament (MBT) seniors competition held over the weekend at the San Juan Gym.
John Kenneth Zamora and Joshua Emmanuel Montero scored 19 points apiece as San Juan held off Valenzuela’s last-ditch rally to barge into the semis of the tournament organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and sponsored by Synergy 88, San Miguel Corp., World Balance and Higer Bus.
The Whatta Whatta, which finished in a three-way tie with Manila and Marikina at 4-2, await the winner of the No. 3 Manila vs No. 6 Caloocan quarterfinal in the semis which will also be a knockout affair in the tournament which has Mobile App ng Bayan Barangay 143 as presentor, my|phone “Bida ang Pinoy” as official mobile phone and Spalding as official ball.
San Juan, which actually lost to Valenzuela 89-85 in the classification phase last Oct. 8, appeared headed to an easy win as it led 86-72 with 3:40 left.
But Valenzuela, with Josiah Esplana and Jaymar Gimpayan combining for 39 points, came charging back via a 14-2 run to threaten at 86-88 with still 27 seconds left.
Both teams, however, failed to score again until the final buzzer, enabling the Whatta Whatta to escape with the win at the start of the playoffs of the 24-and-under tourney which is also supported by Excellent Noodles, Nature’s Spring Water, 1-Pacman Partylist, Hopewell Sales Corp., Star Bread, Frabelle Foods, Regan Industrial Sales, Inc., Glitter.ph, Alcoplus and Archie’s Bespoke Bar + Grill.
Commissioner Pido Jarencio said the tournament resumes today with the three quarterfinal games in the South and one in the North Division.
Meanwhile, the MBT Seniors Tournament will have its All-Star Day tomorrow at the San Andres Sports Complex to be capped by a North vs South All-Star Game and an exhibition game pitting a selection among the MBT and MMDA organizers against a team from the LGU representatives composed of city officials and some coaching staffs from the participating teams.
All-Star Day side events like a three-point shootout and a free throw shooting contest among the 24-and-under players participating and a Shooting Stars competition are also on tap.
