Misamis Oriental, Cebu open Liga title showdown

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY , Philippines  –Misamis Oriental and M. Lhuillier-Cebu start their duel for the Smart Liga Pilipinas Conference II national crown with the Meteors hoping to cash in on their homecourt edge for the headstart in their best-of-five series at the Xavier University gym here.

The two teams took different routes to set up the title clash with the Meteors escaping a grueling five-game semifinal series with the Quezon Red Oilers, 3-2, and the Cebu Niños sweeping the Trace-Laguna Stallions, 3-0, in the other bracket.

“There is so much history and tradition between these two franchises that makes the finals series an interesting and exciting story on its own. MisOr and Cebu represent the best that regional basketball can offer and I have no doubt this will be another great treat to all our fans,” said Liga Pilipinas president Noli Eala.

In the playoffs’ first round, the Niños also swept the Ilocos Sur Bravehearts, 3-0, while the Meteors dropped the series opener to the MP Warriors of GenSan but recovered to win the next three games, 3-1.

MisOr is out to sustain its fine start in the league when it hurdled the first three leg assignments in Zamboanga, Laguna and Cebu, losing only once in 12 games. The Meteors placed third in their final leg at home but had amassed enough Liga Tour Points to secure the top spot and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

The tournament is supported by Smart, ML Kwarta Padala, Accel, Air 21, Burlington, Pagcor Sports, Laptop Phoneshop Exchange, Nature’s Spring Water and Molten and sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).