MANILA – Lapu-Lapu kept its pennant hopes alive in the Visayas leg of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup after romping Mandaue, 67-52, in their semifinal showdown at the Alcantara Civic Center in Cebu on Tuesday night.
The third-seeded Lapu-Lapu erased the second-seeded Mandaue's twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinal round and forced a decider on Wednesday night to determine Talisay's opponent in the leg finals.
After a 20-all deadlock to end the first quarter, Lapu-Lapu shut down Mandaue in the final three quarters, holding them to a combined 32 points in the last half-hour.
Overall, Lapu-Lapu held Mandaue to only 22 percent shooting from the field even as the latter struggled from the free-throw line at 14-of-26.
Reed Juntilla led Lapu-Lapu with 19 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
Dawn Ochea added a double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds.
No Mandaue player scored in double digits all game long with Alfrancis Tamsi contributing the highest points with nine off the bench alongside two rebounds. (PNA)
