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The Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue got the win that they coveted for after they defeated the Forward Taguig, 76-71 late Friday, but still came up short in the Mandaue leg of the 2009 Smart Liga Pilipinas Conference 3 at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.
The Landmasters needed to win by 10 points or more and had the inside track on the feat as they held a 13-point lead in the final period. However, Taguig slowly closed the gap as Mandaue put up a series of hurried plays allowing their opponents to score off their miscues and secure a seat in the leg?s final round, against the Quezon Red Oilers.
Quezon and Taguig had superior FIBA quotients of 1.053 and 1.000 respectively. Mandaue had 0.947 and will meet winless Zamboanga Uno Latinos for third.
Boyet Bautista, who played for Taguig in Conference I, led Mandaue with 16 points followed by Jercules Tangkay with 12. Lou Gatumbato again led Taguig with 20 points and four assists while Ariel de Castro had 13 markers.
In the first game, the Red Oilers redeemed themselves for their previous loss by blasting Zamboanga, 143-85.
It was an all-Red Oilers show from start to finish as they raced to a 44-13 lead after one period, the most by a team in a period. By halftime, the lead stretched to 72-35, also a record while the 143 total points and the 58-point final winning margin bettered the marks established by the Trace-Laguna Stallions in their 134-88 mauling of the Toyota-Bacolod Turbos last Sept. 4 in Angeles City.
Ramsey Williams logged his third Liga triple-double with 27 assists, 13 rebounds and 11 points in 25 minutes of play. Luis Palaganas led the barrage with 24 points followed by Jorel Canizares with 19 while five other Red Oilers had 10 or more points.
