Euro, SCTEX near PCBL semis berth

EURO-MED and Biyaheng SCTEX hurdled their respective rivals in similar hard-fought matches to move a win away from securing the last two semifinals berths of the PCBL Chairman’s Cup at Marikina Sports Center Friday.

Pushed to the limit by a game Foton squad, Euro-Med relied on ex-pros Lester Alvarez and Jopher Custodio for the important baskets down the stretch and preserved a 77-73 win to take the head start of their best-of-three quarterfinals series.

Nearly overshadowed by Euro-Med’s win was Biyaheng SCTEX’s thrilling overtime win over an import-less yet game Sta. Lucia Realty, 77-72, in the other game.

Alvarez, a member of PBA grand slam team San Mig Coffee, came through with back-to-back baskets in a span of 40 seconds as he tried to kept the hard-fighting Toplander at bay. His basket in the 1:16 mark gave Euro-Med a 75-71 lead.

Levi Hernandez shoved the Toplander within a basket of a bucket of his own in the final 21 seconds.

In the second game, Raul Soyud came back from a one-game suspension to lead SCTEX with 19 points and 17 boards.