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| The Quezon Huskers celebrate their victory with Gov. Helen Tan. MPBL |
LUCENA—Quezon survived a grind-out from Binan for a 56-49 win in the deciding game of the MPBL South Division Finals on Saturday night at the Quezon Convention Center.
In a game where defense dictated the tempo once again, the Huskers, held to only 25 points at halftime, haunted the Tatak Gel in the second half, limiting them to only six points in the third quarter and eight for most of the fourth as the hosts took a 54-44 lead with 1:38 to go.
Biñan had one last gasp, scoring five straight points to cut the lead to half with 47.6 seconds remaining, and the team thought it got a huge stop as Chris Pagaran missed an open layup in the next play.
However, Joshua Yerro grabbed the huge offensive rebound and milked the shotclock, giving his opponents only 7.4 points to make a quick dash to force overtime.
Pamboy Raymundo tried a quick three to no avail, and Vince Magbuhos iced the game for Quezon with two free throws with 1.1 seconds to go to send nearly 8,000 fans in attendance to a frenzy.
"Talagang alam nila kung gaano kahalaga ito. Nag-usap kami noong halftime na championship na ito, so pagtulung-tulungan muna," coach Eric Gonzales said after his team ruled the South for the second straight year.
LJay Gonzales led the Huskers with 14 points, 11 in the second half, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Magbuhos added 13 points and nine rebounds.
By clinching the South pennant, Quezon set a national finals date with North Division champ Abra, with Game 1 happening on Thursday night at the Andres Bernos Memorial Gymnasium in Bangued.
Raymundo finished with 10 points and four rebounds for the Tatak Gel, who pulled off one of the most memorable playoff runs in MPBL history, slaying some giants earlier in the postseason despite being the sixth seeds before pushing the Huskers to the limit.
