Quezon loses to Laguna but makes the semifinals Niños extend win streak to 20, nears historic sweep in Liga Pilipinas

CEBU, Philippines - The Quezon Red Oilers folded up in the windup on the way to absorbing a 65-72 setback to Trace-Laguna Stallions but lady fortune still smiled at them as they snatched the remaining semifinal ticket in the Liga Pilipinas Conference 3 “Super Leg” last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Meanwhile, the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños collected their 20th straight victory after crushing the Smart-Pampanga Buddies, 80-62. The Niños trailed by 10 points early in the third period, 41-31, but rattled the Buddies with their suffocating defense enroute to an explosive 16-0 blast that pulled them ahead for good, 47-41.

Stephen Padilla had 13 points, while Ariel Mepaña and Richard Ian Saladaga banged in 11 markers apiece for the Niños, whose biggest lead stood at 20 points, 73-53, on Padilla’s 3-pointer with 3:58 to go in the game.

Earlier, Quezon, Laguna and Pampanga figured in a three-way tie with identical 1-3 win-loss records but the Red Oilers proceeded into the next round by virtue of a superior quotient of 1.04.

The Stallions got 1.0148 followed by the Buddies with .94573.

Quezon, thus, set up a knockout duel with defending champion MisOr Meteors at 7:00 tonight, with the winner earning the right to face Cebu Niños in the sudden-death championship tomorrow.

The Stallions needed to beat the Red Oilers by at least 10 points to stay in contention and they nearly accomplished that target as they posted a 12-point advantage, 70-58, on back-to-back hits by Alex Angeles with 1:57 left in the contest.

The Stallions protected a double-digit lead, the last one was at 72-62 with 46 seconds to play as the Red Oilers,sensing that their backs are pinned against the wall, managed to tally the game’s last three points on free throws by Robert Labagala and Angelus Raymundo to stave off early elimination.

The scores

Laguna (72)- Losentes 21, Villaver 15, Angeles 12, Mangahas 8, Capati 6, Estrada 5, Legaspi 3, Sanz 2

Quezon (65)- Raymundo 17, Labagala 12, Palaganas 10, Canizares 9, Mondragon 6, Pinera 4, Orias 3, Dedicatoria 2, Cacha 2   (FREEMAN NEWS)