JUMBO Plastic squad stunned top seed Caida Tiles, 79-61, to move a win away from bagging the inaugural championship of the PCBL Founders Cup Friday at JCSGO Gym.
Driven by the pronouncement of Caida forward Ford Ruaya, who said Jumbo Plastic is a lighter opponent than Sta. Lucia, the Linoleum Giants led form start to finish en route to the surprisingly easy win at the start of their best-of-three finals series.
The Giants will go for the jugular at 7 p.m. tonight at Malolos City Sports and Convention Center after the 5 p.m. duel for third between Sta. Lucia and Euro-Med.
Mark Lopez, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, said they focused on proving their critics wrong.
Caida had a weeklong break following a two-game sweep of Euro-Med in the Final Four while Jumbo had to go the full route against Sta. Lucia.
The Giants won in all departments—rebounds (44-36), assists (16-8), steals (6-2) and points off turnovers (16-4).
The scores:
JUMBO PLASTIC 79—Martinez 22, Arellano 16, M. Lopez 14, Viernes 7, J. Lopez 6, Eguilos 5, Padilla 5, Taganas 4, Mandani 0, Perez 0.
CAIDA TILES 61—Jalalon 11, Maiquez 9, Ruaya 7, Hayes 7, Robles 7, Lozada 6, Corpuz 4, Gabawan 4, Terso 4, Leynes 2, Jamon 0, Rios 0, Almario 0.
Quarters: 23-13, 44-26, 63-45, 79-61