MANILA – In the end, it will still be Talisay against Mandaue in the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup Visayas leg finals.
Mandaue put a bitter end to Lapu-Lapu's Cinderella run with a 74-64 win in their knockout semifinal game on Wednesday night at the Alcantara Civic Center in Cebu.
In a game where Mandaue coach Mike Reyes believes is "all about who will want it more,” his team showed that it has quickly laid to rest their nightmarish outing the night before after racing to a 28-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But as Mandaue's offense began slowing down, Lapu-Lapu slowly got back to the game and eventually cut the lead down to just two, 64-62, with 3:27 remaining in the game.
Gryann Mendoza came to the rescue down the stretch, scoring on a pull-up jumper and dishing out an assist on what would be Michole Sorela's dagger layup with 1:25 to go.
Mendoza finished with 25 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks for Mandaue, which will open its best-of-three series against Talisay for the Visayas pennant on Friday night.
Alfrancis Tamsi added seven points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals off the bench.
Reed Juntilla, who sizzled earlier in the playoffs to lead Lapu-Lapu's run, was held to 6-of-17 shooting for 13 points alongside four rebounds and one steal. (PNA)
