A shoddy fourth quarter offense ultimately brought Konflikt’s downfall, with Elmer Esdrelon notching only five points and missing his late-game 3’s in the last seven minutes.
FGC pulled off a 48-46 lead during the third quarter and clung to a one-point lead with 2:54 remaining.
Konflikt pulled all the stops in an early game rush and poured Dave Sablan, Ivan Devero, and Jawn Joyner on the court. The tactic worked — for a while — until FGC tied the scores, 40-40 on a 19-24 run in the second quarter.
Kae Bernardo lifted FGC on 26 points before his late-game ejection and Lerio Pagarao eked out 17 on high flying layups that neither Esdrelon nor Sablan could reject.
Team FGC marked their widest lead, 70-63 2:13 into the fourth period and left Konflikt scoreless after Bahillo’s three-pointer and a jump shot from Sonny Lerio. The two eventually carried the load as center Rex Yabut fouled out with Banjo Basila and Noel David.
Konflikt later knocked in a triple from Jawn Joyner while Esdrelon, Sablan, and Devero added four points in free throws to narrow the scores.
Both sides rallied back and forth in the next two minutes until Konflikt tied the game, 72-72.
A series of free throws boosted FGC by four points and Yabut and Bahillo tipped in two layups to gain a 90-85 lead with 1:25 left.
Esdrelon missed two more three-point attempts and was cornered by Lerio and Bahillo below the basket before fouling out.
Joyner garnered 22 while Sablan and Devero scored 16 and 17, respectively.
Yabut piled 15 points and Bahillo earned 14. Lerio, who posted five in the first half, tallied 10 overall.
Screams of triumph were heard from FGC’s bench as the team drew a guaranteed ticket to tonight’s finals versus Northern Marianas College Proa.
Konflikt remained unbeaten during regular season with seven wins.
Game one of the championship’s best of three series starts at 7 p.m. today. Game two will follow on Friday.
Scores:
FGC Construction 94 – K. Bernardo 26, L. Pagarao 17, R. Yabut 15, J. Bahillo 14, S. Lerio 10, Z. Babauta 6, B. Basila 4
IT&E-Konflikt 87 – J. Joyner 22, I. Devero 17, D. Sablan 16, W. Abuel 8, E. Esdrelon 5, J. Barrios 4, S. Metran 4, B. Tamayo 4, M. Capalad 3, M. Palacios 2, B. Berline 2
Quarterscores: 21-16, 40-40, 63-65, 87-94
Proa 96, Mobil 73
NMC Proa clinched Monday night’s first finals seat after crushing Mobil by a large margin, 96-73.
Despite his game high 28 points, Jun Estolas alone couldn’t withstand a forceful offense from Proa’s Pete Iguel and Marvin Rabauliman, who scored 19 and 18, respectively.
Team Mobil, who reached the semis on a 73-67 win over Satbahi-Blue Haus, drastically fell behind after Proa’s 33-18 surge in the second quarter.
Iguel survived an empty first quarter and entered the second half with eight points. He closed the final period on eight more points while Jack Lizama and Rabauliman added seven each.
In the third quarter, Estolas backed Mobil’s pace and tallied 11 points to outrun Proa, 18-24.
A series of field goals from Iguel and Dan Barcinas kept Proa in shape with a 20-point lead. Rabauliman, a former Mobil player, capped the game on a triple after notching two free throw shots. Kae Chariton mustered 15 points while Lizama scored 14 and Barcinas earned 11.
Proa ended the regular season with the second best record at five wins and two losses.
Scores:
NMC Proa 96 – P. Iguel 19, M. Rabauliman 18, K. Chariton 15, J. Lizama 14, D. Barcinas 11, J. Villacrusis 9, J. Sablan 8, P. Mendiola 2
Mobil 73 – J. Estolas 28, P. Lizama 15, G. Ruluked 13, A. Fernando 8, J. De Guzman 4, L. Factor 4, G. Gapor 1
Quarterscores: 19-14, 52-32, 70-56, 96-73
