Misamis bags third TOP semis berth

MANILA, Philippines - Patrick Cabahug played true to form, banging in 30 points to help host Misamis Oriental beat ANI-FCA, 85-82, and clinch the third semis berth in the Tournament of the Philippines (TOP) Saturday at the Xavier Gym University in Cagayan de Oro.Averaging just 12.2 points in the leg eliminations, Cabahug showed why he emerged the UAAP scoring champion in 2007 as he scored from almost all angles to lead the Meteors to the Final Four of the tournament organized by the Philippine Basketball League and Liga Pilipinas.

With the win, the Meteors joined Treston-Laguna and Ascof Lagundi in the next round starting Aug. 31. They will play the Cough Masters in a best-of-three semis series next week with the Meteors hosting the first two games.

ML Kwarta Padala-Cebu, which emerged the top qualifier in the nine-leg elimination round, tries to complete the semis cast when it hosts MP Pacman Gensan on Aug. 25 at the New Cebu City Colisum.

Though he was fielded only in the second quarter, Cabahug made his presence felt right away, running rings around his guards to score from afar.

“We know what Patrick can do but this win is a fruit of good teamwork and our hard one week preparation. We are determined to win this game and I think the players showed that in this game,” said Meteors coach Jun Noel.

Cabahug was at his best in the third quarter where he outscored the Cultivators by knocking down 17 points which he highlighted with three triples.

That gave them a 64-55 lead which they padded to 72-57 on back-to-back triples by Dino Daa and Khiel Misa with little over six minutes left.

ANI-FCA, however, fought back mightily, draining five of its nine triples that shoved them to within 82-85. But time was not on their side.

VJ Serios had 16 points and five rebounds to pace ANI-FCA.