Red Oilers bag second straight Liga leg plum

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines – The Quezon Red Oilers bagged their second straight leg championship in the Smart Liga Pilipinas Conference III, beating the Forward Taguig side, 85-74, in the final of the Mandaue City leg at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Center last Saturday.

The victory thus firmed up the Red Oilers bid for one of the two automatic slots in the Super leg national finals slated next month.

Luis Palaganas and Angelus Raymundo took charge for the Red Oilers, who closed out their four-leg elimination phase stint with 35 Liga Tour points, including 12 in the Mandaue leg. The Red Oilers also ruled the General Santos City leg two weeks ago.

Luis Palaganas was named the leg’s MVP with norms of 14.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals.

Taguig recorded its second runner-up finish and settled for seven points for a 32-point total for third place.

Teams ranked from third to fifth after the elimination phase will gain twice-to-beat advantages in the wildcard round, which will determine the three qualifiers that will join the two automatic Superleg finalists.

The Cebu Niños, with a perfect record in the elims, are assured of the top seeding in the Super leg national finals with 45 points.