ILOILO City – Elite Lab clinched a semifinals seat in the Open Category of the Mayor Jerry Treñas New Normal Sporting Event Basketball Tournament on Monday night at the M.H. Del Pilar Covered Court at the Don Francisco Village in Jaro district.
The Elite Lab notched its third victory in four games after walloping J. Cordon Construction, 93-69. Marvin Cuerbo was hailed as the Player of the Game with 19 markers.
With still a game remaining on their schedule, Elite Lab locked in on the second spot in Group A and will have a twice-to-win disadvantage over Group B’s top-seed Uniwheels.
Uniwheels completed a sweep of all of its four Group B matches when it defeated TEJ, 92-83, on Sunday. Jesan Dela Cruz spearheaded the win with 21 markers.
Defending champions DPWH-Iloilo Executive, for its part, also swept all their five games in the Group A after a 91-69 domination over Guimaras Leopards (1-3).
Reigning JPT Basketball Most Valuable Player awardee John Lester Samones continued his fine play for the DPWH with 24 markers in their win over the Leopards.
In other results, Lead Gen (1-3) made sure they will finish the tournament on a winning note as they defeated Rebisco (0-4), 109-98. Julio Garcia tallied 31 points for the winning team.
J. Cordon Construction, for its part, scored a 102-83 victory over Asialink to finish their participation with 2-3 slate. Michael Balbarada tallied 28 points for the winners.
Open category semifinals is set to unfold on March 25 with Group B no.1 Uniwheels facing Group A no.2 Elite Lab, while Group A no.1 DPWH faces Group B no.2 TEJ.
Both Uniwheels and DPWH only need to win once in their semis matches with their twice-to-beat incentive. The one-game championship match is on Sunday./PN
