Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda clobbered Keanzel Basketball, 127- 67 and Go Torakku-St. Clare dispatched CCI-Yengskivel, 114-106, in the quarterfinals Monday night to advance to the Final Four of the 2024 PBA D League Aspirants’ Cup at the Filoil EcoOil Center in San Juan.
Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda set up a rematch against Centro Escolar University while Go Torakku-St. Clare will face top seed and two-time defending champion EcoOil-La Salle in the best-of-three series that begin Thursday.
The Red Lions and the Saints advanced to the quarterfinals with a twice-to-beat advantage but didn’t need an extra game to accomplish their goals.
Nygel Gonzales tallied 17 points to lead six others who scored in double digits for the Red Lions, who asserted themselves early on but needed a big run in the third to shut down their upset-conscious rivals.
A 17-8 run to open the third put away Keanzel Basketball, which pulled within 33-39 late in the second quarter. The lead ballooned to 82-51 entering the fourth.
The Saints also appeared headed for an easy win when they stormed to a 15-point advantage at halftime.
But CCI-Yengskivel refused to go away quietly. Not a game this important.
The Crusaders fought back behind Jhone Amansec, Kenneth Tener and Julius Valderama to stay in the game, 43-47, entering the fourth.
But Go Torakku-St. Clare outplayed their rivals in the fourth to wrap up the victory.
