In an exhilarating MPBL quarterfinal showdown, the GenSan Warriors clashed with the Muntinlupa Cagers in a high-stakes battle for a spot in the south division semifinals.
The game came to a decision when Warriors Nico Elorde converted both of his free throws, putting the final nail to the coffin. This means the Warriors are heading into the South Division semis, where they will face their next difficult opponent, the division’s second seed Batangas City Embassy Chill..
Muntinlupa tried hard in the last few minutes of the game, with Val Acuna’s revenge three-pointer and big plays from Ian Melencio, Dave Moralde, and John Amores, but they could not catch up.
With a nine-point lead of in the fourth quarter, and with 48 seconds remaining, the Warriors’ lead grew even further with Mark Cruz draining a three-pointer to push the gap to a 12-point lead, 83-71.
In an important moment that changed the game, Reneford Ruaya got a disqualifying foul for acting badly toward Kyt Jimenez, which got him kicked out of the game.
Meanwhile, there are achievements made that night. At the 5:29 mark of the third quarter, the game had an intermission to honor Muntinlupa’s Dave Moralde, who reached a big 1,000 points in the MPBL. He completed the feat via a layup and became the 28th player in MPBL history to reach this amazing goal.
For Gensan, Hafer Mondragon scored 14 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and an assist, while John Wilson scored 22 points, grabbed six boards, and two dimes. Wilson became General Santos’ main player.
John Amores scored 17 points, five rebounds, and dished out two assists for Muntinlupa. John Paul Sarao had a double-double with 15 points, crashing the glass for 14 rebounds, and three assists.
The GenSan Warriors are now getting ready to play with Batangas City Embassy Chill in the semifinals of the south division on October 28 at 6 p.m. This much-anticipated matchup will take place at the Bacoor Strike Gymnasium in Cavite, and it looks like it will be another intense MPBL battle.
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