By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The resilient hoopers from team Ttec completed a stellar come-from-behind win over IQOR to arrange a highly-anticipated grand finals clash with TruAlliant in the ongoing Iloilo Inter-Call Center Sports Fest, held in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
After being down by as much as double digits early in the game, team Ttec finally pulled their strings together to stun IQOR, 79-76, and end the semifinal round with boosting confidence.
It was still a back-and-forth affair in the opening frame as Ttec was able to trade baskets with the fast-paced offensive schemes run by IQOR.
However, in the final three minutes of the second quarter, IQOR was able to dominate in the fast break to establish a 47-36 advantage heading into the last two periods of the semifinal match.
IQOR was poised to maintain their comfortable lead after pushing their cushion to as much as 18 points off a long three-pointer from the top of the key.
Just when IQOR thought they could snowball their way until the final frame, team Ttec finally regained their stroke from downtown and unleashed a much-needed scoring avalanche to put themselves back in the ball game.
From an 18-point disadvantage, Ttec’s insane offensive rally trimmed their deficit to just five points, 56-51, off back-to-back treys from their main gunner.
IQOR suddenly went stagnant during Ttec’s run and saw themselves in an unfortunate drought which allowed the latter to put up more points on board.
Ttec then put the crowd on their feet after equalizing the ball game at 60-all, after a drilled three-pointer from the right corner.
Despite failing to sustain their firepower, team IQOR still showed some signs of life after answering every Ttec basket in the final two minutes.
However, Ttec scored three crucial baskets to balloon their advantage back to six points and converted a series of clutch free throws to complete their huge comeback victory.
Meanwhile, in the other semifinal bracket, the powerhouse team TruAlliant dominated team Transcom, 66-48.
