BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
VALIDUS Enterprise advanced to the semi-finals of the women's category of the YOU.C1000 Cup despite slipping to a 53-50 defeat at the hands of The Rookies in Group A on Monday.
The result put both teams together with Coco Cafe into a three-way tie with a win and two losses each after the completion of their group games.
However, Validus progressed based on a point differential of +3.
Coco Cafe follow with -1 while The Rookies ended at the bottom with -2.
Nur Hafizah Hj Abdul Sidek notched a game-high of 28 points for Validus.
The duo of V Sotello and G Maglalang added 11 apiece in the loss.
On the other hand, Lani D topscored for The Rookies with 15 points.
Chia Zi Cheng contributed 11 points in the win.
It was one-way traffic in the opening period with Validus jumping out to a 21-5 lead at the BBA Court in Batu Bersurat.
The Rookies adjusted and trimmed the deficit to eight points at the break.
Validus stayed in front 42-37 going into the decisive frame and the match went down the wire.
It was was deadlocked at 50-50 with just over a minute left before Lani converted a freethrow and Chia adding a field goal for the triumph.
The women's semi-finals will be contested on Sunday, July 7.
Propel will take on Minimau at 7pm in the first match.
A meeting between Validus and Linktech will follow at 8.30pm.
Meanwhile, Wan Sing finished runners-up in men's Group D after cruising past Nuctech 97-47 in the second game.
