The Williamsport Billies riding along with Big Jack Molinas, the league’s most valuable player and an all-star selection, won the semi-final series in the President’s Cup play-offs of the Eastern Professional Basketball League, by downing the Sunbury Mercuries, Saturday night, 77-74. The Billies, league champions for the season, entered the finals which are expected to begin this week.

Molinas, an all-star on everyone’s card this season, led the Billies with a 31-point total, through 12 field goals and 7 out of 9 foul shots.

The Billies piled up their biggest lead just before the end of the third period, when they were ahead by 10 points 57-47, Sunbury, however, cut down that margin by caging nine straight points to narrow the lead to one.

Bells Colone then put the Mercs up by one point with a lay-up, but Big Jack came back and caged several buckets to put the Billies back in the lead to stay.

In the first half of the contest, both teams missed repeatedly from the field. The Billies were called time and time again for travelling with the ball, and were frequently guilty of poor passing.

Molinas caged 17 of the Billies 32 points in the first half, Sammy Glassmire racked up 14 of Sunbury’s 32 markers.

Molinas and Glassmire tangled toward the end of the first half, but cooler heads soon separated the contestants and play resumed.

The Billies first quarter lead was wiped out by two fast field goals by Bells Colone, and Sunbury took a three-point margin.

In the second period, five minutes elapsed before the Billies scored a point. Then Molinas and the Sunbury lead was over. He scored seven out of the last eight points for the Billies in the second stanza.