The GenSan Warriors got a timely lift from Hafer Mondragon as they eliminated the Muntinlupa Cagers, 85-78, in the do-or-die Game 3 of the MPBL Southern Division quarterfinals on Tuesday night at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Taking the minutes of suspended Jervy Cruz, Mondragon stepped up with 14 points on 7-of-8 field goal shooting to go with eight rebounds, one assist, and a block to be named Player of the Game as the Warriors finished the best-of-three series, 2-1.
“Nag-focus lang kami sa depensa, ‘yun talaga ang pinaghandaan namin sa training,” said the former Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights center. “Nagtulungan lang talaga kami this game, sinunod namin ‘yung game plan ni coach Rich (Alvarez).”
John Wilson spearheaded the offense with 22 points, including five three-point hits; Mark Cruz contributed 11 markers; and Krytoffe “Kyt” Jimenez returned to the GenSan roster and finished with seven points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.
The Warriors surged ahead early behind three-point connections from Wilson as they built a 26-19 lead. It grew further in the second period on inside hits from Mondragon as it reached 44-34 at the half.
The Cagers showed some life in the third frame as eight straight points from John Amores cut the deficit to 42-45, but the Warriors had a quick response from Jimenez and Mondragon as the lead reached its largest at 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Muntinlupa, however, still pushed GenSan to the limit in the final quarter with inside and outside shots from Amores, Hezy Val Acuna, and Ian Melecio but could only come to as close as seven points.
Amores top-scored for the Cagers with 17 points; John Paul Sarao had a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds; and Acuna, Melencio, and Dave Moralde had 15, 12, and 10, respectively.
The Warriors move on to the Southern Division semifinals against the Batangas City Embassy Chill.
The post Hafer Mondragon shines as GenSan ousts Muntinlupa to reach MPBL South semis first appeared on Fastbreak.
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