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| Abra is still the "King of the North". MPBL |
SAN JUAN, MM—Abra weathered a fourth-quarter push from San Juan to complete a 3-0 sweep of the MPBL North Division Finals with a 76-68 Game 3 win on Saturday night at the FilOil Centre.
The Weavers, who suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Knights right at the said arena, nearly blew a 16-point lead but held on to set up a rematch of the national finals against the Quezon Huskers.
Needing the home win to keep its season alive, San Juan crawled back from the huge deficit and drew to within one 61-62 with 5:25 left.
A floater from Raven Gonzales and a triple from Dave Ildefonso restored order for Abra as it upped its lead to six 67-61 with 4:06 to go.
Dexter Maiquez converted to keep the Knights in it, but Jake Figueroa scored five straight points to virtually ice the game for the Weavers.
Ildefonso and Figueroa each scored 17 points to lead Abra, which will enjoy home-court advantage in the national finals beginning on Nov. 23 at the Andres Bernos Gymnasium in Bangued.
Maiquez, Harold Alarcon, and Reyland Torres each tallied 11 markers for San Juan, which missed the national finals for the fifth straight season.
