“Metrostar Mardie Limin soars high and foils a point-blank attempt at the basket by Pangasinan’s 6’7” beanpole Jason Tiongson, as Sandie Limin and Peter Junio look on in this bit of quarterfinals action in the PIBAQ 3rd Ambassador Cup 2014 at the QBF Multi-Purpose Training Gym”.

 

By Danotzki Santos

PIBAQ Sports Journalist 

Pictures by Ronnie Castro

 

DOHA:The Manila Metrostars unleashed a fourth quarter scoring splurge to subdue the Pangasinan Thunders, 78-67, early this week in the PIBAQ 3^rd Ambassador Basketball Cup 2014 at the QBF Multi-Purpose Training Gym.

Pangasinan had a strong start and led 17-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Manila grabbed the upper hand 23-21 halfway in the second but the yellow shirts regrouped to regain advantage at the mid-game break, 35-31.

The Pangasinenses continued the surge and established a ten-point cushion before closing the third period on top at 51-45.

Both squads then went scoreless owing to tight defense early in the final canto until Tolentino broke the ice with a twinner and ignited an 11-0 scoring blitz to erase the deficit and push the Metrostars to the driver’s seat at 56-51 with 5:18 left in the game.

Sandie Limin and the orange shirts then banked on a 22-16 wind-up to silence the Thunders, 78-67.

Meanwhile, Pampanga’s Pride coasted along to drub Team Visayas, 75-61 in the main game.

With the Mallari-Raagas-Mercado triumvirate in full throttle, the Pampanga’s Pride just proved too much for their brothers from the south as they led throughout, 25-11 at the end of the first quarter, 40-26 at halftime and 52-46 in the third.

Manila and Pampanga will face off with elimination top teams and early qualifiers Mindoro and Batangas, respectively, in the semifinals double-header on Friday, 14 March 2014, to determine which provinces will figure in the Ambassador’s Cup championship showdown.

A tribute to the Philippine Ambassador to Qatar HE Crescente Relacion and organised in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Qatar and the United Filipino Organizations in Qatar (UFOQ), the eight-week tournament which is also called McDonald's Qatar inter-province tournament aims to generate funds for the victims of Typhoon (Yolanda) Haiyan.

The event also sponsored by Travelex Qatar, Boracay Restaurant, Diana Jewellery, Power Horse Energy Drink, Alicafe and the AGLS Cargo.