B-MEG Derby Ace won’t go through a wringer on the way to the next round.

The Llamados kept their mastery of the Meralco Bolts B-Boys, completing a two-game sweep of their
best-of-three quarterfinals showdown to book a slot in the PBA Philippine Cup Final Four.

James Yap and his teammates actually faced some anxious moments Wednesday night but survived,
pulling off a 92-88 win that sent them to the best-of-seven semifinals versus the Talk n Text
Tropang Texters.

Game One of the Derby Ace-TnT semis confrontation is Sunday at the Ynares Sports Center in
Antipolo.

Derby Ace is aspiring to become the first team in over two decades to successfully defend an
all-Filipino crown. Great Taste was the last to do the feat in 1985.

The Llamados sizzled in the first half then wavered before regrouping to make it 4-0 versus their
former coach Ryan Gregorio and the B-Boys in the entire tourney.

Meralco’s lights went out as the Llamados ran out of time in a bid to completely overhaul
21-point deficits.

The Llamados would finish fifth or sixth depending on the outcome of the Ginebra-Alaska quarters
setto.

“Good thing, we got a big lead early. It helped us survive Meralco’s never-say-die stand,”
said Derby Ace coach Jorge Gallent.

“Once again, we didn’t play aggressive basketball for full 48 minutes. We can’t afford that
against Talk n Text. We do that and Talk n Text will kill us,” Gallent added.

Peter June Simon scattered 16 points in the first half but added only seven in the final 24 minutes
of play. Nino Canaleta, meanwhile, made 13 in the opening half but finished with a mere total of 16.

Macmac Cardona led the Meralco fightback, pouring in 20 of his 26 points in the final half.

Simon got Derby Ace to a good start as he came out bristling and fired 10 points in the opening
quarter.

Taking the first period at 25-18, the Llamados stepped up even more in the second quarter and
pulled away, 52-33, at the half.

The Llamados imposed their game early and dictated the tempo throughout the first half where they
converted 51.3 percent of their shots.

The B-Boys just couldn’t keep up, struggling with a poor 28 percent clip. (SB)

The scores:

B-Meg Derby Ace 92 - Simon 23, Yap J. 17, Canaleta 16, Villanueva 10, Gaco 8, Pingris 7, Allado 6,
Yap R. 4, Maierhofer 1, Salvador 0, Adducul 0.

Meralco 88 - Cardona 26, Ross 20, Espinas 12, Juntilla 10, Isip 10, Weinstein 3, Menor 2, Aljamal
2, Omolon 2, Thiele 1, Belga 0, Taulava 0.

Quarters: 25-18, 52-33, 72-66, 92-88

Source:pba.ph