Bacolod Bingo Plus rode the late-game heroics of Alwyn Alday to subdue General Santos City, 77-73, on Saturday and advance to the semifinal round in the South division of the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season Presented by Xtreme at the Batangas City Coliseum.
Alday pulled off a defensive stop, got fouled and canned the corresponding charities with 3.8 seconds left to seal the outcome for Bacolod, which took the quarterfinal series, 2-1.
It was Jhan McHale Nermal who earned best player honors, however, with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for Bacolod, which also took Game 1, 81-77, before yielding Game 2, 72-77.
Alday, who foiled Nikko Panganiban’s drive in the dying seconds, ended up with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.
Jayboy Solis and Aaron Jeruta wound up with 10 points each, while Mark Yee contributed 7 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for Bacolod Coach Alex Angeles.
GenSan, which surged ahead at 28-16, got 17 points and 8 rebounds from Christian Fajarito, 11 points from Brian Hilario and 10 points plus 4 rebounds and 3 assists from Nico Elorde.
Bacolod and Zamboanga start their three-game semifinal tussle on Tuesday at the Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City
The North division semifinals start on Monday with Pasig taking on San Juan at 6:30 p.m. and Pampanga tackling Nueva Ecija at 9 p.m. at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City.
Batangas and Bacoor are still disputing the other South division semifinal spot at presstime.
