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| Kenny Rocacurva was perfect from beyond the arc. MPBL |
BATANGAS CITY--Biñan needed some spark from an unlikely source to eliminate Batangas City from the MPBL Playoffs with a shock 80-75 win in Game 3 of the South Division Semifinals on Monday night at the Batangas Province Events Center.
Bam Lopez stepped up big for the Tatak Gel, sparking their comeback with a three-pointer with 4:24 remaining that cut the Rum Masters' lead to three.
After Kenny Rocacurva tied it up with a three of his own, Lopez scored two free throws off a Jan Ambuludto foul that gave Biñan a 69-67 lead with 3:14 left.
Philip Paniamogan put Batangas City back up, 70-69, with a triple in the next play, but Jaymar Gimpayan scored back-to-back putbacks, and Rocacurva hit two more charities to give Biñan a 75-70 lead with 1:16 to go.
Jong Baloria kept the Rum Masters in the game with a layup, but Lopez delivered the biggest silencer to the sold-out crowd at the arena when he hit a pull-up jumper to up the Tatak Gel's lead once more to five, 77-72, with 35.1 seconds on the clock.
Ced Ablaza scored on a quick two that cut the gap again to three, but Pamboy Raymundo sealed Biñan's win with the dagger three with 4.3 seconds left.
Paniamogan scored a technical free throw after Raymundo was whistled for delaying the game, but that turned out to be Batangas City's last straw.
Rocacurva led the Tatak Gel with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-for-4 from deep, seven rebounds, and two assists.
Lopez added 13 points on 4-of-6 field goals, all in the second half, and one rebound off the bench, while Marc Pingris chipped in 11 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one block, and three steals.
They now set their sights on the South finals against the Quezon Huskers beginning next Monday at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena.
"We're happy that we made it here, but hindi pa tapos ang laban. Meron pa kaming division finals," coach Boyet Fernandez said.
Baloria led the Rum Masters, whose streak of consecutive South finals appearances was snapped at three, with 15 points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Ablaza added 12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, one block, and one steal as the Tanduay-backed franchise will miss the national semifinals for only the second time in its colorful history.
The heartbreaking loss at home dampened coach Cholo Villanueva one night after he clinched his first major title as head coach when he led the other Batangas-based pro club, the Bluefire Valkyries, to the WMPBL chip.
