MANILA, Philippines - Rudy Lingganay scored all his 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a crucial triple that carried Cobra Energy Drink to a 67-62 victory over Magnolia and into the semifinal round of the PBL PG Flex Unity Cup at the San Juan gym yesterday.
Lingganay defied the outstretched arms of JP Alcaraz as he beat the shot clock and cut short the Wizards’ fightback from 12 points down to within three, 58-61, just over a minute in the contest.
Posting a six-point cushion, the Energy Warriors coasted to the win to complete a sweep of their best-of-three series for the last semifinal slot.
Cobra will face top seed Oracle Residences in the semis while Licealiz and Pharex dispute the other final berth in a pair of best-of-five duels.
“It was the resiliency of our boys that keyed our victory,” said Cobra coach Lawrence Chongson.
“We also avenged our loss to Magnolia that prevented us from making the finals last conference,” he added.
James Martinez went 3-of-3 from the trey to finish with 11 points and help Cobra reach the semis for the second-straight conference.
It was a disappointing finish for Magnolia, which placed second to Harbour Centre in the last conference.
Neil Raneses led Magnolia with 22 points and 14 rebounds as he took charge in the team’s final rally from 12 points down in the last nine minutes. He shot 12 of the team’s 16 points to trim down the lead to 58-61.
Al Magpayo had 14 points and seven rebounds while Alcaraz added 13 points and eight rebounds for Magnolia.