SECOND-ranked La Union booked a Chooks-to-Go National Basketball League Chairman’s Cup Finals rematch with top seed Pampanga on Sunday after dominating Muntinlua 107-84 at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
The PAOwer completed a sweep of the semifinals series but needed a strong wind-up for the clinching win.
Earlier, Encho Serrano took over in overtime as Pampanga scored a 112-108 victory over Taguig to clinch the first finals ticket.
Trailing by 18 in the third period, Muntinlupa clawed back with 13 straight points, capped by Arnold Danga’s deuce, to close in at 76-81.
But La Union went on a 15-3 surge to restore order and post an insurmountable 17-point lead, 96-79, with 4:25 left.
Jayson Apolonio tallied a monster double-double of 24 points and 15 rebounds along with three assists, two steals, and a block. Billy Boado and Ian Llona had 18 points apiece while Mitchelle Maynes had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Muntinlupa’s attack was led by Hilario Sabado with 13 points off the bench. Andre Montserrat and Jerry Codiñera also got 11 and 10 points as bench players.
Biboy Enguio was limited to just five points on a 2-of-10 shooting. All the other four starters failed to reach double figures.
With Pampanga down 105-101 early in the extra period, the former De La Salle Green Archer took charge, firing back-to-back treys with 3:12 remaining. Levi Hernandez also knocked down a trey of his own to give the Delta a 110-105 lead.
Dan Natividad and Mike Sampurna gave Taguig one last fight, reducing the lead to two with 51 seconds left but a cold-blooded jumper by Serrano with three seconds left sealed the deal.
Serrano had a game-high 25 points, shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-6 from deep.
