MLKP-Cebu and Misamis Oriental pulled off contrasting wins over separate rivals to seal a finals showdown in the 6th leg of the Tournament of the Philippines Wednesday at the New Cebu City Coliseum.

The Cebu Niños put to waste a career-high 34 points of Jan Villaver to hack out a 114-110 victory over Mandaue while the Misamis Meteors outlasted the Benedict Fernandez-led Hobe Bihon-Taguig City, 107-92, for their second straight wins in the tournament jointly organized by the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) and Liga Pilipinas.

Cebu and Misamis dispute the top seed when they clash Friday with the winner getting a two-point bonus for sweeping the elims.

With the win, the mighty Niños extended their amazing winning streak to 27, counting the 21 they posted in sweeping Third Conference of Liga Pilipinas tournament last year. They won the opening leg of the tournament by winning all their four games.

“We’re going for the win. MisOr plays very good defense but we’ll try to figure out a way to win. It’s important because of the extra two points given to a team who could score a sweep,” said Cebu coach Yayoy Alcoseba.

Stephen Padilla and Warren Ybanez went perfect in six trips to the free throw line in the final 2:12 to help the Niños ward off Mandaue’s determined comeback.

Villaver finished with a remarkable 13-of-17 shooting, including 7-of-9 from the 3-point arc to wipe out the previous high of 30 points set by Padilla in the Liga last year.

Padilla also waxed hot with 27 markers aside from posting seven assists and four steals while Ybanez chipped in 11 points with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Abby Santos also stepped up with 25 points and 10 boards.

Fernandez, a former star player of Harbour Centre in the PBL, also had a big night as he finished with 28 points, 23 of which came when he rallied Taguig a 31-point deficit.

“Our game with Cebu will be a test to our team especially to our new players,” said MisOr mentor Jun Noel who piloted his team to the Liga Pilipinas second conference title.

The scores:

First game

Misamis Oriental 107 – Cabahug 17, Saldua 15, Raneses 13, Lamocha 13, Misa 12, Lucernas 11, Taganas 10, Moreno 9, Daa 5, Andaya 2, Tagupa 0.

Taguig 92 – Fernandez 28, Dela Cuesta 23, Gatumbato 10, De Castro 6, Vizcarra 5, Guiyab 5, Marquez 4, Sta. Cruz 3, Lumungsod 3, Reguera 3, Tajonera 2, Delgaro 0, Cacha 0.

Quarters: 23-16; 54-27; 83-57; 107-92.

Second game

MLKP Cebu 114 – Padilla 27, Santos 25, Dacia 16, Ybanez 11, Basco 10, Ababon 6, Mondragon 5, Cruz 5, Magsumbol 5, Saladaga 3, Nailon 1, Pligrates 0.

Mandaue 110 – Villaver 34, Gerilla 27, Laygo 15, Bucao 9, Latonio 6, Alcaraz 4, Reyes 4, Magpayo 4, Dennison 4, Tangarorang 3, Zanoria 0.

Quarters: 32-30; 60-50; 86-83; 114-110.