LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Executive Mixers rallied in the fourth to deny the upset-conscious BeGH Warriors another victory while the Justice ended the season of new-comer SPO legislators during the knockout matches of the quarterfinals of the inter-office bracket of the Laity Cup last Thursday, June 8 at the San Jose Gym, here.
The fourth seeded Mixers again started slow against the fifth seed BeGH Warriors and fell into a hole early, trailing 10-19 after the first and by as many as 13 early in the second quarter before going on a 11-4 tear to close the gap at the half to four, 34-38.
See: Laity Cup complete results and team standings
A see-saw battle ensued during the third with BeGH again pushing the throttle and moving ahead by as much as nine early, only to see it shrink to just one, 56-55, at the end of the third behind the rally of the Mixers.
The Mixers, then put the pressure on the backcourt and hit timely treys and mid-range jumpers to outscore the Warriors, 19-14 in the penultimate quarter to bag the game seal their entry to the semifinals where they will face the top seed Legal Officers, who has twice to beat advantage.
On the other hand, the sixth seed Justice Officers jump the gun early and serve notice to their intention by going 19-10 in the first quarter against the third seed SPO Legislators.
The Legislators, however, dropped a 21-8 counter attack in the second quarter to take the lead at halftime, 31-27.
Another offensive burst by the Justice in the third, 23-13, gave them back the lead, 50-44. They then doused cold water to the Legislators’ repeated rallies in the fourth to secure an insurmountable 65-60 lead with just nine seconds to go in the game.
They will have to beat the second seed DepEd Mentors twice in the semis to advance to the finals.
Meanwhile, the Holy Knights completed it elimination round matches at a high note with a victory over the Immaculate Conception of Taba-ao, Kapangan, 82-76, also last Thursday to dramatically improve its chances to secure a spot in the top eight.
The Knights quickly got off to a blistering start, leading by as much as 15 in the first half and thwarted Immaculate Conception’s rallies to bag their sixth win.
The win puts them in good shape to take one of the lower spots in the top eight.
They are currently tied for 5th to 7th places and hold a great tie-break advantage with previous wins against the Latter Day Saints and Sacred Heart, two of their closest rivals for the top eight spot.
The Knights, Immaculate Conception, Don Bosco Boys, Latter-Day Saints and Sacred Heart are currently disputing the reaming four spots in the quarterfinals.
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
