MANILA – Go For Gold Scratchers gained the first finals seat in the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup after a dominant 103-75 thumping of Marinerong Pilipino-TIP Engineers at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Gabriel Banal also fortified his being the leading contender for Conference MVP on Thursday night after tallying triple-double 24 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Scratchers swept the Engineers in their best-of-three quarterfinals.
Banal became the seventh player, too, to accomplish the triple-double feat in the league following Bobby Ray Parks, Mike Tolomia (twice), Jeron Teng (thrice), Kent Salado, Prince Eze, and teammate Matt Salem.
“I know Gab wants the MVP and he deserves it,” said Scratchers head coach Charles Tiu. “He’s been our best player all conference long. He’s very smart, very unselfish, and he helped us get to the Finals.”
Jerick Canada added 18 markers, built around 6-of-6 shooting from three-point line, while Kris Porter, Jai Reyes and Salem contributed 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Scratchers went to work early as Banal and company built a big 51-34 halftime lead that brought the Engineers to its knees. The advantage even reached its largest at 101-73 late in the fourth.
Abu Tratter finished with double-double 20 points and 15 rebounds while Trevis Jackson was limited to just 13 points for the Engineers.
The Engineers bowed out in the semifinals for the third straight conference.
Meanwhile, Rich Guinitaran hit a huge triple with 42.2 second remaining as Centro Escolar University Scorpions held off Che’Lu Bar and Grill Revellers, 81-76, to force a deciding Game 3 in their semifinals series.
Guinitaran eventually finished with 20 points to share scoring honors with Orlan Wamar.
Wamar sealed the Scorpions victory with a corner jumper to extend the lead to five points with 16.7 seconds left./PN
