LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – It’s game on Nov. 13 with the semifinal knockout matches for the four surviving teams whose winners will advance to the finals of the inaugural Cong. Eric Go Yap Congressional Cup.
Second seed La Trinidad 1 will face third seed Itogon in the 6 p.m. opener at the Benguet Sports Complex in Wangal here while top seed Bokod and fourth seed Tuba are expected to go the whole nine yards in the 7:30 p.m. schedule.
The lower seeds have axes to grind against the higher seeds which they fell to in the elimination round. Both lower seeded teams really want to avenge their earlier losses and spoil a Bokod-Trinidad 1 finale.
Itogon was a 99-107 victim of Trinidad 1 on Sept. 28, while Tuba was nipped by Bokod, 87-89, on Sept. 21 in what could have been a won game, said coach Jun Rimando of Tuba.
While Bokod, Trinidad 1 and Itogon easily won their quarterfinal matches, it was a different story for Tuba as it needed two full games to send La Trinidad 2 packing home.
It was a sweet come from behind victory for the Tuba boys, 96-94, all before their adoring fans led by Mayor Clarita Sal-ongan.
Bokod, meanwhile, got a scare after Mankayan protested their quarterfinal match contesting the presence of a player who missed the first 10 games of the top seed.
The letter was filed within the 24-hour deadline but was unsigned and so the protest was denied.
But the player under protest, Roy Pulac, Jr., will be suspended for one game which will be implemented during the winner take all semifinals on Monday.
League commissioner Roderick Osis, meanwhile, announced that the finals will start on Nov. 20 also at the Benguet Sports Complex.
Meanwhile, on Nov. 9, league officials met with the 14 player-members of the Benguet All Star Selection which will play against a selection from the pro leagues on Nov. 30. – Press release
