Munti forges Hoopla ‘rubber’

MANILA—Defending champion Muntinlupa made the most of a rare opportunity, edging host Taguig, 79-77, at the Dueñas gym Friday and setting up a do-or-die for the South Zone berth in the Inter-Zonal phase of 2nd Coca-Cola Hoopla National Capital Region Championship.

The double-round Inter-Zonal matches, meanwhile, unfold today with Mandaluyong taking on Antipolo at 5 p.m. and Caloocan meeting Quezon City at 7 p.m. both at the Mandaluyong City Gym.

Kevin Buenaflor and Christian Paquinto keyed a closing spurt to give Muntinlupa, which took the place of Pasay in the playoff due to a technicality, the crucial win.

The rubber match was ongoing at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex at presstime, with the winner joining Quezon City (East), Mandaluyong (Central), Antipolo (West) and Caloocan (North) in the two-round zonal matches.

Muntinlupa dominated the first three quarters, leading by 10 points on several occasions, the last at 59-49 on Rommel Sanchez’s jumper.