JUMBO Plastic Linoleum clinched a semifinal berth in the Republica Cup basketball tournament after beating Sta. Lucia, 80-78, on Monday night at the Malolos Sports and Convention Center.
Jeff Viernes and Jason Ibay spearheaded a fourth-quarter attack as the Giants finished the preliminaries with a 3-1 win-loss card for second place in Group A and a spot in the semifinals set on Wednesday night in Malolos City.
Viernes finished with 21 points while Ibay contributed 13 for Jumbo Plastic. They combined in a 9-0 run to tie the game at 61 before connecting again on a mini run that put the Giants ahead for good, 72-67.
Raymond Ilagan finished with 21 points while JR Cawaling had 13 points for the Realtors, who took a 58-52 lead after three quarters. Cawaling also hit a triple that put the Realtors ahead, 61-52, early in the final canto.
Jumbo Plastic, the recent crowned PCBL Founders Cup titlist, will play Group B topnotcher Hobe Macway Travel at 6:30 p.m. before the 8 p.m. match-up between Group A No. 1 AMA Online Education and Malolos Mighty at 8 p.m.
The semifinal winners will play in a one-game championship on Thursday night.
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