JUMBO Plastic whipped Sta. Lucia Realty, 70-56, on Friday to set up a best-of-three finals showdown with Mighty Sports in the PCBL Chairman’s Cup at Marikina Sports Center.
Backstopped by the explosive backcourt duo of Jeff Viernes and James Martinez, the inaugural champion Linoleum Giants effectively limited the Realtors’ top guns Jhaps Bautista and Jett Vidal to a combined 12 points.
Bautista, who fired 10 points, missed all his three attempts from beyond the arc while Vidal could only produce a basket.
All in all, the usually steady Realtors’ three-point shooting went 0-for-10.
“We concentrated on the area where they are most good at, which is three-point shooting,” said Jumbo coach Stevenson Tiu.
The Linoleum Giants held the Realtors to only two field goals in the first six and a half minutes to post an early 14-4 lead.
A 9-0 spurt in the second period capped by a Jay-R Taganas inside stab gave the Linoleum Giants a 44-24 lead with only 1:13 remaining before the half time break.
The Linoleum Giants were never seriously threatened from there.
Taganas, a member of the Mythical Selection of the Founders Cup, came away with a double-double performance of 13 points and 15 rebounds while Lopez, reinserted into the starting unit, chipped in nine.
The scores:
JUMBO PLASTIC 70—Taganas 13, Lopez 9, Martinez 9, Eguilos 8, Viernes 8, Arafat 8, Santos 6, Siruma 5, Ibay 4, Arellano 0.
STA. LUCIA 56—Sanjo 17, Bautista 10, Salado 7, Javelona 6, Escosio 4, Ilagan 4, Camasura 2, Vidal 2, Castanarez 2, Bangga 2, Jamito 0, Gabriel 0.
Quarters: 20-12, 44-28, 56-43, 70-56