JOSEPH Sedurifa buried three triples in the overtime period to lead Makati to a 78-75 victory over Manila and advance to the North Division Finals in the 2020 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Lakan Cup on Friday at San Andres Sports Complex.
From a deadlock at 67, the CEU standout caught fire and led the Super Crunch to a 78-73 lead in the final 1:17.
Chris Bitoon kept the door open for the Stars with a layup in the last 13.5 seconds, and they even forced a five-second inbound violation that kept their hopes alive.
Aris Dionisio and Jollo Go, however, could not find the bottom of the net with shots from beyond the arc as No. 2 seed Manila got stunned once again in front of its home crowd.
"Savior. It's the right word for Joseph," said coach Beaujing Acot. "He's the savior of our games namin ng Makati. From Bulacan and everything, so Joseph talaga."
Sedurifa pumped 12 points, five rebounds, four blocks and three assists for third seed Makati, which fought back from a 0-1 deficit to win the best-of-three semis.
Jong Baloria topped the Super Crunch with 16 points, six boards and two assists, while Joshua Torralba got 11 points and seven rebounds.
It was a sweet victory for Makati, which thought it had the win after Joshua Torralba's three at the end of regulation. That shot, however, was nullified by the officials as it came after the buzzer.
The win arranged a best-of-three North Division Finals duel between No. 3 Makati and No. 1 San Juan.
Bitoon carried the Frontrow-backed Stars with 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, as Dionisio got 15 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks.
Mark Dyke also tallied a double-double of 15 and 10 as Manila had to make do without top gun Carlo Lastimosa, who suffered a right hamstring injury early in the game.
The scores:
Makati 78 - Baloria 16, Sedurifa 12, Torralba 11, Ablaza 9, Lingganay 8, Villanueva 7, Importante 6, Apinan 4, Atkins 3, Cruz 2.
Manila 75 - Bitoon 16, Dyke 15, Dionisio 15, Arellano 8, Go 8, Espinas 5, Abrigo 4, Matias 2, Gabriel 2, Lopez 0, Montilla 0, Lastimosa 0.
Quarterscores: 18-23; 39-33; 54-56; 67-67; 78-75.
Source: Spin PH
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