GINGOOG CITY , Philippines – Defending Liga national champion and fourth seed Misamis Oriental scuttled seventh-ranked Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue, 95-72, in their Smart Liga Pilipinas Conference III Wild Card game to advance to the Super Leg at the Arturo Lugod Memorial Sports and Cultural Center over the weekend.
The Meteors rode on a big second quarter run to turn what had been a close contest into a rout, completing a sweep of their series and clinching the fourth seat in the Super Leg set to fire off in Cebu City on Sunday.
Not even the late addition of big men Nat Cruz and Charleston Bolias could turn the tide for the Landmaster as they struggled with a combined output of 10 points and nine rebounds while the Meteors sustained their scoring spree to post a 72-44 lead entering the final quarter.
Patrick Cabahug topscored for the Meteors with 16 points while Erian Daja came up with a double-double job of 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Francis Mercado paced Mandaue with 19 points while Alex Cainglet had 14.
Meanwhile, host and fifth seed Forward Taguig and the visiting sixth ranked Trace-Laguna Stallions dispute the fifth and final seat in the Super Leg in their wild card round match today at the C. P. Tinga Memorial Hall.