Blue Sharks, Kings seal Fil-India Cup title series

MANILA, Philippines - The Blue Sharks outlasted the Knights, 77-73, while the Kings held off the Bombay Bombers, 85-81, in the playoffs to arrange a showdown for the FIBL Fil-India Cup crown.

Game One of the best-of-three series starts on Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Makati Coliseum.

The Knights and the Bombers will dispute third place honors at 3 p.m.

Manoj Chanduman fired 31 points while Kishore Mirpuri dished out a double-double job of 16 points and 16 rebounds as the defending champion Sharks foiled the Knights title bid.

The Kings, on the other hand, drew 27 points from rookie Jasjit Dhaliwal and a solid all-around game from Alin Chulani as they frustrated the Bombers to clinch the other finals berth.

The Kings actually bucked the loss of Dhaliwal to fouls with still 6:23 left in the contest as Chulani took over with Prashant Dargani, keeping the Bombers at bay with their clutch baskets.

The Sharks-Kings title clash is a repeat of last year’s finals where the Sharks swept the Kings in two games to capture the crown.