CALAMBA – The Final Four cast of Liga Laguna Season 3 is now complete and Sta. Cruz and KDL Calamba made sure they’ll be in the mix.
Sta. Cruz and Calamba brought down their respective quarterfinals rivals in contrasting fashion to punch their way to the semifinal round at the Barangay 3 Covered Court in Elepano 1 here.
This means there’s going to be a new champion this season as Sta. Cruz ousted Season 2 champ Blue Steel San Pablo, 103-93.
Five players, led by Most Valuable Player candidate John Zernan Hernandez, carried the balance scoring attack of Sta. Cruz.
Hernandez took center stage and finished with 24 points, four assists and four steals as he completely dominated the guard match up, allowing Sta. Cruz in securing a Final Four berth.
On its way to the semis, the team had won five of its last six games, but it will have a tougher task ahead in the semifinal round, facing top seed San Pedro, which it needs to beat twice in a row.
Four other players ended up in double figures for Sta. Cruz — Arlan Santos, Rey Jann Sandoval, Lester Gahite and Jeron Morales.
Arlan Santos, who made a reputation as the ‘master of banked shots’ in the tournament, hit 8-of-13 shots on his way to tallying 20 markers while also dishing out six assists and picking up two steals.
Sandoval, Sta. Cruz’s main man in the middle, went a rebound short of posting a double-double performance as he ended up with 18 points and nine boards. Lester Gahite and Jeron Morales each tallied 10 apiece.
Also winning its quarterfinal showdown was KDL Calamba, which outplayed Macos Meats Nagcarlan, 98-82, in the other match with Mario Bonleon stepping up big.
Bonleon completed a double-double show, producing 24 points and 10 boards as he simply overpowered his front court counterparts while sending Calamba in a head-on collision with Cabuyao, the second best team in the elimination round, which also carries a twice-to-beat advantage.