Manila Metrostars’ forward Mardie Lim scores one over Mindoro’s Michael Paderes and Jeffrey Justiniano during their PIBAQ Ambassador Cup semi-final earlier this week.
By Danotzki Santos/Doha
The Manila Metrostars pulled off a Houdini-act in the dying seconds and escaped with a hairline 71-70 win over the Mindoro L Arc En Ciel while Pampanga’s Pride dumped the fighting Batangas Barakos squad, 81-71, in a pair of grueling semi-finals matches earlier in the week for the Pinoy Basketball in Qatar (PIBAQ) Ambassador Cup.
The final of the event will be held on Friday at the Al Gharafa Training Gym.
With the game tied at 70-all and with barely a fraction of a second left in the game, Sandie Limin was fouled on his attempt to the basket and cashed in on his second gift shot point to register the game-clinching solitary point that sent Manila to the finals against Pampanga.
The game was tight throughout, characterized by 7 deadlocks and 12 lead changes, as Filipino basketball stalwarts led by red shirts’ Mardie and Limin, and Mindoro’s Ronnie Cajayon and Michael Paderes, played their hearts out and led their respective squads.
On one hand, Pampanga quelled a last ditch stand by Batangas in the homestretch to forge a win and book the last final seat.
From a 71-59 advantage with 1:21 remaining in the match, the Barakos crawled back and engaged the northerners in an end game exchange at the stripe before succumbing to a 10-point final margin.
The final will be played at 10:30 am on Friday, while the third-place match between Mindoro and Batangas will start at 9 am and will be graced by the Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Crescente Relacion.
The eight-week tournament, which is organised in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Qatar and the United Filipino Organizations in Qatar (UFOQ), and is also called McDonald’s Qatar Inter-Province Tournament, aims to generate funds for the victims of Typhoon (Yolanda) Haiyan.