Montaña claims first semis seat

Reed Juntilla provided an instant offense in the fourth period yesterday as Montaña Pawnshop outlasted Harbour Centre, 73-63, and claimed the first outright semis berth in the PBL Unity Cup at the La Salle Greenhillsw Gym.

Uncharacteristically quiet in the first three quarters, Juntilla, another fast-rising star from Cebu, scored 10 straight points to bail the Jewels out of trouble in the face of Harbour’s relentless comeback.

With the win, the Jewels, who are gunning for their second straight crown after their breakthrough title conquest in the Open Championship last February, topped the elims with a 9-2 card and secured an automatic slot in the Final Four.

It was another heart-breaking defeat for the Port Masters as they rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second only to lose steam in the final three minutes as they failed to shake off Montaña’s rock-solid defense, especially on Harbour’s top gunners — Mark Cardona and LA Tenorio.

The setback — their second to Montana this tournament — dropped the Port Masters to an 8-3 mark.

Granny Goose Kornets outclassed Bacchus Energy Drink behind a murderous third quarter performance to score a breezy 88-62 win in the first game.

After a slow and sluggish start, the Snackmasters used a stifling defense and sleek running game anchored on RJ Quinahan and Ian Saladaga ˆ both from Cebu - to rip the game wide open that enabled them to close out their campaign on a high note.

With their win, the Snackmasters finished at No. 6 after accumulating a 5-6 win-loss record and will meet the No. 3 qualifier in the quarterfinal round. They need to beat their opponent twice to advance into the Final Four.

The Energy Kings wound up seventh in the eight-team field with only two wins to show in 11 games.

So effective was the defense employed by the Snackmasters in the third canto they held the Energy Kings to just nine points while exploding for 33 points which was two points more than what they tallied in the first two quarters ˆ thanks to the hot shooting of Saladaga and Quinahan.

Bacchus‚ third quarter shooting was so horrible it made only field goal, courtesy of Paolo Hubalde who scored it with just a little over three minutes remaining going into the final quarter. The 6-foot-2 Saladaga, who appeared to have a bottomless supply of energy, logged all his nine points in the third, including a triple that turned a 31-33 deficit to a commanding 64-42 lead.

Kings with 16 points but was a big letdown in the last two quarters.