Games  today:
(RTU gym)
7  p.m -- . Hobe Bihon vs  Logohu
8:30 p.m. --  Wang’s  vs Lyceum-Uratex

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas-Ironcon Builders  made the baskets that mattered most at crunchtime,  beating  erstwhile  undefeated  Hobe  Bihon, 107-104, in overtime and snatching the second  outright  semis berth in the 2011 MBL Open basketball championship at the RTU gym in  Mandaluyong.

Jeric Teng, the team’s most  prolific scorer ,poured eight of his 22 points in the extra period, including a pair of  back-breaking three-point shots,  to power the  Tigers of  coach Pido Jarencio and manager Jimi Lim to a dramatic, come-from-behind victory over Hobe.

Teng’s  backcourt partner, Jeric Fortuna  also shone  for UST-Ironcon with six points  in the overtime  to provide a crippling 1-2 punch that knocked Hobe out of the top two spots and the twice-to-beat advantage.

The win  enabled UST-Ironcon to finish in a three-way tie for the top spot with last year’s  runner-up  Foscon Ship  Management and Hobe with similar 6-1 win-loss slates.

Foscon clinched the top seed by virtue of the FIBA quotient system. UST finished second,  followed by Hobe.

Foscon and  UST-Ironcon  will  now wait for their semifinal opponents, while Hobe will play a knockout match  against No. 6 Logohu  today.

Actually, Hobe had a chance to win the game in regulation, but  Clark “Tata” Bautista  hit a game-tying three-pointer from  the deep right corner to send the game into overtime.

Teng and Fortuna took over from there.

Cameroonian  recruit Karin Abdul  led UST-Ironcon with a personal-high 27 points and 13 rebounds, even  holding his own   against  Hobe  import Jason Davis.

The eight-team  tournament  is  supported  by  Smart Sports, Dickies Underwear, Big Banners Tarpaulin, WG Diners and PRC Couriers.

The scores:

UST-Ironcon (107) --  Abdul 27, Teng 22, Afuang 17,  Fortuna 15,  Bautista 9, Pe 8, Ungria 2, Tan 2, Aytona 2, Lo 2, Camus 1.

Hobe Bihon (104) -- Davis 35, Sanders 19, B.Lim 15, Junio 9, Rivera 7, Misolas 6, De Castro 6, Ybanez 3, Santiago 3, D.Lim 1.

Quarterscores:  23-26, 37-48, 68-69, 91-all, 107-104.