Tiger Black took down undefeated Summit, which held a twice to beat advantage team in the elimination round, Friday evening, as the first Michael Miranda Fil-Sino Basketball Tournament reaches the finals.
The game got out to a competitive start as Summit held a four-point edge after one quarter, behind RJ Guerrero’s 9 points which included 2 trey bombs, while Jappy Cuaycong also added 8 points.
Tiger Black grabbed the upper hand in the second quarter, with contributions from Justin Kilayko and Oda Tampus, scoring 10 and 6 points respectively, carrying a five-point edge into halftime.
Tiger Black then brought a better effort in the third, outscoring Summit 19-13 in the quarter to claim an eleven-point advantage heading into the final frame.
Summit was able to turn things around down the stretch and mounted an impressive comeback, but it wasn’t enough, as Tiger Black closed out the win with a final score of 82-80.
Oda Tampus scored a game-high 21 points for Tiger Black, George Arazo added 20 points, Justin Kilayko – 10, and Richard Co – 8 points. For Summit, Kim Demaranan led the team with 20 points, followed by Justin Baldonado – 19, RJ Guerrero – 12, while Third Deloso and Jappy Cuaycong had 8 points apiece.
Both teams return to action on Monday, April 3, when the first champion of the Michael Miranda Basketball Tournament will be crowned.*
