Top Seed AACI Trading lived up to its billing as the team to beat by holding off AACI Transport, 101-92, while No. 3 Royal Star Transport rallied behind Michael Ang to upset No. 2 Huminova Tigers, 88-81, in the semifinals of Class A division of the 2012 Fil-Sino All Asian Countertrade Inc. 1st Conference Inter-Color Basketball Tournament at Tay Tung High School Po Hang Gym.

AACI Trading will be heavy favorites against Royal Star when the two teams clash tonight in a one-game final showdown at 8 p.m. following the Class B championship match-up between No.1 Organic Solutions and No. 3 Jast Enterprises.

Trading leads in the tournament with an 8-1 win-loss card, absorbing its sole defeat in the hands of AACI Farms. Ironically, Farms placed last in the elimination round.

AACI Transport held a slim 30-29 opening quarter lead with Richard Co and Bong Palo combining for 15 points, while Trading was steered by Julius Teruel and Arvin Gustilo with 10 points each.

Trading wrested the halftime lead at 55-51 with outside gunners Daniel Chiu sinking three triples and Mark Binguan adding two from three-point area, while Robbie Jalando-on had 7 points and Yan Yan Dy scored 8 points for Transport.

Charlton Ong delivered 9 points in the third quarter to counter the balanced Transport offensive as Trading remained on top, 70-65, at the end of the quarter.

Palo and Bol Manaloto combined for 13 fourth quarter points, but Chiu remained hot from the three-point arc as he added three more conversions supported by Jalando-on and Gustilo, whose combined output of 15 points sealed a finals berth for Trading.

Gustilo paced Trading with 20 points, Chiu added 18, Jalando-on and Teruel shot 14 points each, Johann Villanueva and Charlton Ong made 11 points apiece, and Binguan scored 9 points.

Palo finished with 14 points, Chibon Uy delivered 13, Dy hit 12, Manaloto and Co put up 11 points each, Jose Miguel Montinola with 9 points, and Jolly Castillo had 8 points.

In the other game, Royal was able to avenged their two losses in the elimination round to the Tigers behind the third quarter performance of Michael Ang.

From a 35-all standoff, Michael Ang shot six triples to finish with 19 points, all scored in the third quarter to give Royal Transport a 64-58 lead going to the fourth quarter. Biboy Yap scored 10 points to cushion the impact of Ang’s third quarter offensive explosion.

Danny Boy Uy, Badong Eufre and RB Chua combined for 19 points as they rallied the Tigers in the payoff quarter, but Royal slowed them down with Rey Pandoro and Matthew Yap combining for 14 points to frustrate the Tigers.

Peter Paul Ortaliz scored a game-high 16 points backstopped by Pandoro with 13, Yap registred 12 points, Marc Lo and Roger Montalbo with 8 points each.

Uy finished with 14 points in a losing effort, Monroe Chua and Johnnyson Yu added 12 points apiece, RB Chua contributed 11, and Ralph Richard Tan had 9 points.*with a report from Stephen Tan

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