Bokod, and three others assured of a finals berth
(left photo) DRIVE. Mark Mamolang of Buguias sneaks past a defender from Kapangan.
UP THERE. Itogon’s Kim Padawag drives strong to the basket against four Tublay players in the ongoing Cong. Eric Go Yap Congressional Cup. MSD Photo
With a 9 – 0 win-loss record, Bokod, including three other municipalities, are already assured of a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Cong. Eric Go Yap Congressional Cup.
Bokod clinched the first quarterfinals berth after routing Tublay, 87-62, at the BSU Covered court Saturday.
“We could end up number one with only Itogon as our last big assignment. Definitely, we will not take that team lightly since they want to secure the third spot,” said playing coach Jovencio Caleno in Filipino.
The 9-0 Bokod is set to meet Itogon, 7-2, on October 24.
Caleno, however, bemoaned the absence of two of his bigger men – Ramil Alimba and Kendrick Joseph.
Alimba, who is sweating at the Bokod bench, has a hamstring injury, while Joseph has a groin injury.
“I just hope they recover after the long break,” Caleno added.
Also clinching a twice-to-beat quarterfinals edge are La Trinidad 1, Itogon, and Tuba.
La Trinidad currently sits at the number two spot with a 10 – 1 record in the tournament backed by Benguet Cong. Eric Go Yap and ACT – CIS party list while Itogon and Tuba are set to complete the top four teams that have a twice-to-beat advantage in the magic eight.
Tuba could either end up at third if Itogon loses to Bokod on the 24th but could end up fourth should the latter win.
Mayor Clarita’ Sal-ongan’s squad scored their ninth win after overcoming a sluggish start to move past host Tublay, 77-71, Wednesday evening at the Norson Multi-Sports Gym.
Tuba needed a strong fourth quarter after failing to defend a seven-point lead, the same deficit it had in the first quarter before tying the game at halftime, 42-42 of the event also backed by the Office of Gov. Melchor Diclas.
It is also the penultimate game for Tuba, 8-3, as it is expected to finish the eliminations at 10-3 with its last slated on Sunday versus Kibungan.
Other squads in the mix for a quarterfinals berth are number five La Trinidad 2 and Buguias who are currently tied at the fifth and sixth spot with an identical 6-4 record in the event organized by Media for Sports Development with Mark Media Solutions.com.
Kapangan on the other hand is recently at seventh while Mankayan is looking to seal the number eight and last spot in the quarterfinals.
Both teams squared off during Tuesday’s game in BSU Buguias with Kapangan escaping an 83-80 win.
Mankayan battled from 15 down and took a seven-point lead early in the fourth only to crumble in the dying seconds to lose the match.
Nelson Estepa led Kapangan with 26 points and 10 rebounds while also dishing two assists, four steals, and two blocks. Fenrie Atinyao and Adam Clee Paraan added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Jonathan Peralta led Mankayan with 16 points, Felix Balais, Jr. and Sang Yen Campos added 14 and 10 markers for Mankayan.
Kapangan improved to 5-5 which is good for the seventh spot. It has three tasks remaining with Itogon,
Bokod and Atok. Itogon and Bokod are the tough assignments.
Mankayan which falls to 4-5 and the eighth spot has Tublay, Trinidad 1, and Kabayan as the remaining opponents and could pull a two-of-three victory.
The rest of the standings is Sablan (3-8), Bakun (3-8), Kabayan (2-8), Atok (2-7), Tublay (2-8) and Kibungan (2-8) for the ninth to 14th spots. MSD Release
