Armatech clinches semis berth

Armatech bagged the second outright semis slot in the Masters division of the 2015 United Filipino Organization Basketball League after crushing the Old’Aces, 80-58, last Wednesday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Armatech’s Bernard Montano, center, looks for a teammate to pass the ball to as he is tightly guarded by Auto Motion’s Jake Villanueva, left, and Mico Usi is closing in for help defense during their Masters division game at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. Armatech beat Auto Motion and LBT in the tiebreak for second place and the last automatic semis berth. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Armatech-Old’Aces tiff was the last regular season game in the six-squad league and the former finished the round-robin contest with a 3-2 record, tying LBT Appraisal and Auto Motion for second place in the team standings. Armatech went to win the tiebreak to make an automatic entry to the semifinals and join Blue Haus, which got the first Final Four berth after wrapping up the regular season with a perfect 5-0 slate.

LBT Appraisal dropped to third and will face cellar dweller Graphics/Star 6 (0-5) for one of the two remaining semis tickets. Auto Motion will collide with the Old’Aces (1-4) in the other playoff pairing.

James Abuy led Armatech’s semis-clinching win over the Old’Aces, as he drilled a game-high 24 points and delivered the killer blows in the fourth quarter. The Armatech shooter knocked in five triples in the fourth canto, three of them came in consecutive fashion to put the game out of the Old’Aces’ reach.

The Old’Aces, which played without key players Peter Camacho and Elias Rangamar, kept up with Armatech in the first half despite its depleted lineup. Junior Renguul nailed 6 of the Old’Aces last 8 points in the first period to move his team within 2, 15-17.

In the second canto, Armatech managed to get more breathing room with Martin Moreno coming off the bench and also scoring 6 of his squad’s last 8 markers to lift his team to a 33-26 halftime edge. The lead was stretched to 15 after the third period, 54-39, as Armatech spread the wealth with six of its players lighting up the board.

Armatech kept going in the fourth canto, but this time it was a one-man show with Abuy making up for his so-so performance in the first three periods and peppering the Old’Aces with his shots from downtown. Abuy was scoreless in the first frame, had only 2 points in the second, and tallied 4 in the third before having a breakout game in the final quarter.

Meanwhile, the U20 division started its playoff round yesterday with Armatech getting a free pass to the semifinals following a victory via default against Gilas.

Armatech joins the unbeaten Sonics (4-0) in the semifinals, while Gilas is in the brink of elimination. Gilas will need to prevail against the loser of the Blue Haus-Ol’Aces playoff match to march into the Final Four.

Armatech 80 – Abuy 24, Montano 14, Moreno 6, Poquiz 6, Park 5, Tolentino 5, Malasarte 4, Tobias 4, Gatdula 4, Gabaldon 3, Bartolo 2,

Old’Aces 58 – Diaz 15, Stole 13, Renguul 12, Fitial 7, Rogolifoi 6, Ayuyu 6.

Scoring by quarters: 17-15, 33-26, 54-39, 80-58.