Blazers-Falcons, Bombers-Pirates slated in 'The Big Dance' semis

Games Friday (Amoranto Arena, Quezon City)
2 p.m. – St. Benilde vs Adamson
4 p.m. – Jose Rizal vs Lyceum

MANILA, Philippines – College of St. Benilde will try to continue its dominant run as it clashes with Adamson University while Jose Rizal University collides with Lyceum of the Philippines University in the semifinal round of the Pinoyliga Cup “The Big Dance” on Friday, August 16, at the Amoranto Arena in Quezon City.

The No. 3 Blazers take on the No. 2 Falcons in the curtain raiser at 2 p.m. followed by the match-up of the No. 17 Heavy Bombers and the No. 13 Pirates at 4 p.m.

The four teams reached the Final Four phase with contrasting wins during the quarterfinal stage of the tournament last Wednesday.

Adamson guard Matt Erolon canned two pressure-packed free throws with three seconds left in the game as the Falcons scored a thrilling 74-70 win against the 10th-seeded Enderun Colleges Titans.

Ray Torres led the Falcons with 12 points, Joshua Barcelona added 10 points with seven rebounds and three assists, while Allen Ignacio and Erolon chipped in eight points apiece.

CSB, on the other hand, came through with a 91-60 victory over No. 6 Our Lady of Fatima University Phoenix — the only lopsided game in the quarterfinals.

Ian Torres scored 17 points to lead a balanced attack by the Blazers, while Roger Ondoa, Edson Serrano and Jose Antonio Eusebio had 11 points each. Jhomel Ancheta finished with eight points, three rebounds and eight assists.

“We are happy to be in the semifinals even if we haven’t really been complete,” Blazers mentor Charles Tiu said. “We’ve been balancing out the schedule with finals, and other games and leagues.”

“But we have a tough test against Adamson University and hopefully we can find a way to make it (to the finals),” added Tiu.

In the Round of 16, CSB hammered an equally dominant 77-43 win over St. Claire.

JRU, the lowest-ranked team in the Final Four, has continued its impressive run following a low scoring 47-46 win against ninth seed University of Perpetual Help System DALTA in the quarterfinals.

Prior to that, the Heavy Bombers stunned No. 1 Letran Knights in the Round of 16 with a similar nail-biting 79-74 win.

As for LPU, the Pirates have consistently been improving each game, beating Olivarez College in the Round of 32, 76-63, downed No. 4 San Beda University in the Sweet 17, 79-74, and escaped No. 12 Emilio Aguinaldo College in the quarters with a 68-65 victory.