San Juan finished off Quezon City with a 106-81 beat down on Thursday night to move into the championship round of the MPBL Datu Cup North Division.
In front of their hometown crowd, the Big J Sports-backed Knights played according to potential and drew the firepower needed from veterans Mac Cardona and John Wilson in ushering the Black Mamba-supported Capitals to the exit door.
San Juan swept its rival in the best-of-three semifinals series and is now awaiting the winner of the Bataan-Manila do-or-die showdown on Monday night.
Manila kept its hopes alive by outlasting Bataan, 80-76, in the other game as its defense worked double time to frustrate the Zetapro-sponsored Risers an outright entry to the division finals of this tournament put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with PBA legend and former MVP Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner.
The Stars played aggressive on defense right from the get-go as Chris Bitoon, Mark Lopez and the other guards put the pressure on Bataan’s ball carriers. Manila picked up six steals and forced its rivals to commit 17 turnovers, resulting to 17 turnover points.
Aris Dionisio led the way with 23 points, with 15 of them coming in the second half.
Reil Cervantes also stepped up big in the second half, producing 10 of his 14 points, while Marcy Arellano completed a triple-double performance finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Bitoon, who concentrated on playing defense in the early goings, had seven of his 12 markers in the fourth period.
Over at the Knights camp, the team also had a productive night offensively while working solid on defense.
Cardona knocked in 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field. He also dished out eight assists and pulled down seven rebounds as the former PBA scoring champion flexed his wares in the playoffs.
Wilson, on the other hand, added 19 markers, six rebounds and four assists to team up with Cardona in providing the Knights a 1-2 punch in offense.
The Knights shot 47-percent from the field (42-of-88) and 45-percent from the rainbow territory (11-of-24) while holding down the Capitals to just 33-percent shooting (28-of-83). But what’s more glaring was the advantage on rebounding as San Juan grabbed 64 rebounds, 26 more than Quezon City.
