King Importante reigns late with dagger block as Batangas City upends GenSan, completes MPBL Division Finals cast

Batangas City heads to the MPBL South Finals. MPBL (file photo) 

By Ivan Saldajeno

BATANGAS CITY—And then—finally—there were four.

Batangas City clinched the last spot in the MPBL Division Finals after eliminating gritty GenSan with a 66-62 win in front of 5,100 fans at the Batangas City Sports Coliseum on Tuesday night.

All it took was a huge defensive gem in the endgame to lift the Embassy Chill to a showdown against the Bacoor City Strikers for South Division supremacy.

With the shotclock winding down in the Warriors' last gasp to save their season, King Importante came just in time to block Michole Sorela's corner three attempt, eventually forcing a shotclock violation on them.

Ced Ablaza then sealed Batangas City's win with two free throws with 5.1 seconds left in the game.

Levi Hernandez led the Embassy Chill with 14 points including a huge triple with three and a half minutes left that created enough separation for them to hold on, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.

Ablaza added 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block.

Sorela finished with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal to lead the Warriors, whose elimination means it will be an all-Luzon national semifinals for the first time since the teams were divided between the North and South during the second season.

Game 1 between Batangas City and Bacoor City is set on Monday night at the Bacoor City STRIKE Gymnasium.

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