LOS BAÑOS, Laguna , Philippines – Host Treston-Laguna set up a one-game face-off with Ascof Lagundi for the third leg crown of the Tournament of the Philippines (TOP) by downing Cobra Energy Drink, 82-74, Thursday at the Trace College gym here.
The Stallions again leaned on the red-hot shooting of Ricky Ricafuente to finish the elims with a 2-1 record.
The Ascof Lagundi Cough Busters, meantime, completed a three-game sweep of the Laguna edition by outlasting Mandaue-Cebu, 77-75, to gain a two-point bonus in the tournament jointly organized by the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) and Liga ng Pilipinas.
The Cough Busters squandered a 12-point advantage, 60-48, but hung tough – thanks to the gutsy plays of veteran forward Edwin Asoro and Fil-Am Jonathan Uyloan – to prevail.
Ascof Lagundi and Treston-Laguna are playing for the championship as of presstime.
For a while, the Mandaue Landmasters appeared headed for a big win as they took a 73-70 on a triple by Nanni Gabas and a jumper by Raoul Latonio.
The 6-foot-4 Asoro, however, rose to the occasion, scoring four points that sandwiched a basket by Uyloan to give back the lead to Ascof Lagundi for good.
Ricafuente, on the other hand, unloaded 18 of his team-high 21 points after the Ironmen threatened at 51-49.
The 5-foot-11 shooting guard knocked down two triples that gave the Stallion a 61-56 breather at the end of the third period before greeting the Ironmen with a seven-point explosion at the start of the payoff period to finally seal the deal.
“We’re the first host team to be in the finals and this is a good motivation for us. We were beaten by Ascof Lagundi in our first meeting but this is an entirely different ball game,” said Laguna coach Nomar Isla.
It was a disappointing campaign for Cobra after being hailed as the team to beat after winning the GenSan leg of the TOP last week. The Ironmen, who dropped all their three games in the elims, can gain a point if they beat the Landmasters in the battle for third place.