PAGADIAN, Zamboanga del Sur.– Clarin moved on the verge of sweeping the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup elimination round.

The Sto. Niño fended off the gritty Zamboanga del Sur, 96-91, at the Pagadian City Gymnasium here, Sunday.

Clarin will go for the automatic finals berth tomorrow against also-undefeated Basilan at 4 pm.

A triple by Dan Sara cut Zamboanga’s deficit to just two, 80-82, with 3:21 left in the fourth period.

But Clarin’s Joseph Eriobu and Carlo Lastimosa had other plans.

The two drained back-to-back threes before Pamboy Raymundo capped it off with a fastbreak layup, 90-80, with just 1:45 remaining.

Raymundo sank the dagger with 43 seconds left, burying a long triple from the right-wing, 95-83, for a clean 7-0 win-loss card.

Lastimosa scattered 22 points, seven assists, and four steals for Sto. Niño. John Wilson added 17 points and seven rebounds of his own.

Eriobu pumped in eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter to go with his seven rebounds and two assists.

Adrian Celada had five triples on his way to 17 points for ALZA Alayon. Dan Sara chimed in 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting to go with seven assists against three turnovers.

Dennis Daa got his usual double-double performance with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Zamboanga Del Sur created a three-way logjam for sixth place with Kapatagan and MisOr with identical 2-5 win-loss records.

ALZA Alayon plays the Brew Authoritea on the last day of eliminations on Tuesday, 2 pm.

The scores:

Clarin (96) – Lastimosa 22, Wilson 17, Eriobu 12, Marcelino 11, Raymundo 7, Baetiong 7, Pagarte 6, De Mesa 6, Hayes 5, Berdan 3, Mangahas 0.
Zamboanga del Sur (91) – Sara 18, Celada 17, Daa 15, Pepito 10, Jabello 9, Poligrates 8, Moneva 4, Larolin 3, Tajonera 3, Bangcoyan 2, Raflores 2, Puerto 0.
Quarterscores: 26-23, 42-45, 65-67, 96-91.