CECABA stars rebound with win vs. Rama Boys

The Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association (CECABA) All-Stars rode on Chester Cokaliong's furious first half assault and Joel Chan's decisive finishing touches to subdue Guardo-Rama Boys Barkada, 87-77, in the 2005 Executive's Cup basketball tournament on Monday night at the City Sports Club of Cebu gym.

Chan tossed in 12 of his topscoring 21 points in the second half where the Easternians toyed with Guardo-Rama Boys to secure their fourth victory in six starts. He also finished with 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals on a 9-of-13 sniping from the 2-point field goal.

Before Chan took over the scoring chores, Cokaliong sparked CECABA's daring breakaway, firing in 17 of his 20 points spiked with five 3-pointers in the first two quarters of play to spur the CECABA All-Stars to a 15-point lead at the break, 55-40.

From that point on, the CECABA All-Stars dominated the game with authority and enjoyed their biggest lead of 22 points at 62-40 cushion with still 8:29 to go in the third period.

The Guardo-Rama Boys though lost only by a 10-point margin as the CECABA stars allowed them to convert garbage points in the closing minutes of the match.

The only consolation for the Guardo-Rama Boys was when it took a six-point advantage, 19-11, on Edgar de la Calzada's six straight points with just a few minutes gone by in the game.

But Chan, Edvin Kaw and Zotico "Tuco" Tan presided over a 6-0 swing to knot the count at 19-all, before Cokaliong drilled in a triple to give the CECABA All-Stars their first taste of the lead at 22-19. The Easternians eventually closed the first period with a 26-21 edge.

Henrich Chua had his finest game so far, cashing in 13 points on a 3-of-4 sniping from beyond the arc, while Sammy Sia posted a solid double-double, netting in 11 points on top of 10 rebounds. Tuco Tan scored only four, but contributed eight assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Reynaldo Zamora poured in 18 points, seven steals, six rebounds and six assists, while De la Calzada also had 18 points on top of seven rebounds, but their impressive performance went for naught as Guardo-Rama Boys plunged to their fifth defeat against only one win.

In the main game, Peter Michael Sta. Maria churned out 24 points on top of seven assists, five rebounds and two steals as the Jaycees Basketball Association (JBA) selection slammed the Sacred Heart Alumni Basketball Association (SHABA), 79-66.

Chris Sta. Maria added 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals, Benedict Chua also had 14 points to go with his four steals and five rebounds, while Cesar Yu added 12 markers and six caroms for JBA selection, which trailed by a matchstick at halftime, 37-38.

But JBA fought back in the third period to grab the lead, 54-49, before launching a blistering 25-17 spurt in the endgame to close out SHABA and improve its win-loss record to 3-2.

Neil Carcel had 18 points and five rebounds, while Neil Lim added 15 points but they got no sufficient help from their teammates as SHABA languished down the rear with a pitiful 0-5 win-loss slate.

The scores

First game

CECABA All-Stars (87) - Chan 21, Cokaliong 20, Chua 13, Sia 11, Kaw 9, W. Yu 5, Tan 4, Cimafranca 4

Guardo-Rama Boys (77) - De la Calzada 18, Zamora 18, Lim 12, M. Rama 9, P. Yu 8, Borres 4, Daluz 4, Godiz 2, Rebollido 2

Second game

JBA (79) - P. Sta. Maria 24, C. Sta. Maria 14, Chua 14, C. Yu 12, Te 6, Ferrer 2, Germano 2, Lin 2, Purcia 2, Tongco 1

SHABA (66) - Carcel 18, N. Lim 15, P. Lim 10, Tan 8, H. Lim 6, Casas 4, Chua 2, Lee 2, Tio 1