Imus and Zamboanga carved out contrasting victories late Thursday and forced rubber matches in their respective quarterfinal series in the MPBL Datu Cup at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex.
The GLC Truck and Equipment-backed Imus Bandera outlasted the Batangas City Athletics-Tanduay, 75-69, as James Castro hit 5-of-6 free throws in the last 22 seconds and denied the inaugural staging champions of a sweep of their best-of-three series.
Imus will try to do the herculean task of completing an upset win right at the enemy’s territory on Monday right after the game between Muntinlupa and Zamboanga, which also denied its rival an outright entry into the Final Four of the southern division.
The Family’s Brand Sardines-supported Zamboanga side survived a grueling battle with host Muntinlupa before preserving an 84-73 triumph in the other game.
In the first meeting in the playoffs, it was Allan Mangahas who showed he could dominate the game even without scoring that much.
