RED OILERS ANNEX MANDAUE LEG, CLIMB TO 2ND PLACE OVERALL

MANDAUE CITY – The Quezon Red Oilers bagged their second straight leg championship in the Smart Liga Pilipinas Conference III by thumping Forward Taguig, 85-74, in the finale of the Mandaue City Leg Saturday night at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Center. The victory boosted the chances of the Red Oilers in getting one of the two automatic slots in the Superleg National Finals next month.



Luis Palaganas and Angelus Raymundo led another balanced attack of the Red Oilers as they ended their four leg elimination phase with 35 Liga Tour points on the strength of their 12 point harvest in the Mandaue leg.



“Good thing the game turned up-tempo and that’s our forte,” explained winning coach Oliver Bunyi. “Again, this is dedicated to Gov. Nantes and the people of Quezon.” The Red Oilers annexed the General Santos City Leg two weeks ago.



For his overall play all week, starting forward Luis Palaganas was named as the leg’s MVP with averages of 14.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals.



Taguig which was hoping to better their runner up finish in the Laguna leg fell short anew as they settled for 7 points to jack up their Tour points total to 32 or good for third place. Teams ranked from third to fifth after the elimination phase will gain a twice to beat advantage in the wildcard round that will determine the three qualifiers that will join the two automatic Superleg finalists. The Cebu Ninos by virtue of their perfect record in the elims so far are assured of the top seeding in the Superleg National Finals with 45 points.



Idle defending National Champion Misor Meteors is in fourth spot with 26 points and has an outside chance of gaining an outright berth if they can win their last leg.



In the battle for Third Place, host Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue staged a mighty comeback in the final two minutes to overturn a five-point deficit and still prevail over the Zamboanga Uno Latinos, 105-101.



Liga Pilipinas action resumes on October 28 with the Latinos hosting the defending National Champion Misamis Oriental Meteors, M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Ninos and guest team EKB-Apayao Rapids.



Choice games from the Mandaue City Leg will be televised next week on Solar Sports from Wednesday to Saturday. Liga Pilipinas Classics are seen daily on Viva Prime Channel. For more information, visit www.ligapilipinas.net.