CEBU, Philippines - Topseeds Inayawan and Guadalupe lived up to their lofty billings as they knocked out their respective rivals to arrange a best-of-three finals showdown for the Conor Cup basketball title starting tonight at the Mambaling Sports Complex.
Inayawan staged a furious comeback to easily dispose the fourth-ranked Pardo, 93-68, while Guadalupe made a 7-1 run in the final two minutes of the contest to oust the highly-touted San Nicolas Proper, 87-83.
Joseph Guangco and Robert Abasolo topped Inayawan with 21 and 17 points, respectively.
Ope Abellana and Airland Tulda led Pardo with 35 points combined.
Later in the night, the Guadalupe hoopsters staged a daring rally in the windup where they also shackled the San Nicholas side with their stonewall defense.
After a couple of deadlocks, Angelmars Gacho gave the lead back to Guadalupe for good, 84-82, with less than a minute left to play.
Alex Cainglet topped Guadalupe with 21 points, while Wilson Gabucan chipped in 19 points followed by Abe Galinato and Gacho with 16 apiece.
San Nicolas relied on the tandem of Danny Aying and Reyland Jumalon with 39 points combined in a losing effort.
The scores
First game
Inayawan (93) - Guangco 21, Abasolo 17, Toroy 12, Jueves 11, Cabrera 9, Bacalso 6, Baguio 6, Dico 4, Cabo 3
Pardo (68) - Abellana 19, Abelong 16, Tulda 8, Jayme 7, Peras 6, Araw-araw 4, Eroy 3, Montillano 2
Second game
Guadalupe (87) - Cainglet 21, Gabucan 19, Galinato 16, Gacho 16, Lucena 9, Cosido 6
San Nicolas (83) - Aying 22, Jumalon 17, Cabanero 14, Agpasa 8, Sianson 4, Sare 3, Encorporado 2. – THE FREEMAN