Sharks, Dragons win knockout E-League matches

THE Accenture Sharks and Supportsave Dragons lived to fight another day after beating separate foes yesterday in the sudden-death wildcard round of the 2011 Powerade E-League for Basketball at the City Sports Club-Cebu Gym.

The Sharks nipped the Xlibris Publishers, 73-69, while the Dragons dismantled the JP Morgan Chase and Co. Bankers, 88-75.

The separate wins put the Accenture and Support Dragons in a do-or-die collision today at the same venue. The winner in today’s game will take the eighth and final spot in the quarterfinal round.

The quarterfinal battle also starts today with the Aegis People Support Vipers taking on the defending champions Teletech Titans and the Lexmark Stallions battling the Calltek Trojans.

The Titans and Stallions will be enjoying twice-to-beat incentives for finishing in the top four after the eliminations.

The Sharks leaned on the explosive performance of Randy Bihag, who scored a whopping 39 points. He also added six rebounds and an assist in leading his team to that big win.

Violeto Tan Jr. paced the Publishers with 22 points while Sergs Go Bui added 11.

Janille Bantilan, meanwhile, led the Dragons with 28 points with Edmon Paradiang and John Hatague adding 19 markers.

Petronilo Blanco fired 23 points, Jonathan Zaragosa scattered 22 and David Garcia piled up 17 markers but the trio failed to save the Bankers from bowing out of contention. /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA