The Wanna-Be's pulled off an upset over the Hoops, 52-41, in the second and final semis pairing in the 18A Summer Jam Friendly Basketball Tournament last Saturday at the Garapan Basketball Court.
With the victory, Wanna-Be's will face Mobil in the winner-take-all championship game this Saturday at 7pm at the Garapan court.
Wanna-Be's advanced to the last semis game after getting a win via forfeiture over the Hip Hop Thunder in the loser's bracket playoff game. The Hip Hop Thunder was declared ineligible to compete for not paying its entrance fee.
After receiving a free semis pass, Wanna-Be's went to work early and foiled the Hoops' repeated comeback bids to arrange a finals date against Mobil. Incidentally, the Hoops made it to the semifinals after eking out a 45-40 win against the Hip Hop Thunder on Aug. 11.
Wanna-Be's buried four three-pointers in the first half to establish a double-digit lead at halftime, 24-14. Dan Barcinas led the charge with two treys and nailed 8 points in the opening frame. Ben Lisua salvaged 6 markers for the Hoops, who stumbled out of the gate.
Barcinas connected with another quick three ball at the start of the second half and teammate Preston Basa drained two more to give Wanna-Be's a comfortable distance, heading into the final minutes of the match. Kelvin Fitial scored 16 points in the second half in an effort to mount a Hoops' comeback, but Wanna-Be's simply would not be denied.
After hitting from outside for the majority of the match, Wanna-Be's went downlow to their center Jack Lizama late in the game. The Wanna-Be's big man then delivered 10 big points in the clutch to help seal the deal.
Lizama's 14 points led Wanna-Be's, which also got 11 and 10 markers from Barcinas and Basa. Fitial's 20 topped the box score for the Hoops and he was the lone double figure scorer for the losing team.
Wanna-Be's 52 - J. Lizama 14, Barcinas 11, Basa 10, Norita 5, Mendiola 4, Peters 4, P. Lizama 2, Teregeyo 2.
Hoops 41- Fitial 20, Lisua 6, Tenorio 6, Lauron 4, Ogumoro 2, Mendez 1.
Scoring by halves: 24-14, 52-41.
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