Los Jefes de Cebu cagers sweep elims in 28th PAL Intersports

The Los Jefes de Cebu hardcourt warriors of coach Elmer "Boy" Cabahug bombed out last year's losing finalist Los Amigos de Iloilo, 88-57, to complete a three-game elimination round sweep in the 28th Philippine Airlines (PAL) Intersports basketball event at the Iloilo City Sports Complex.

Mario Naron topped with 16 points, Enrico Espinosa donated 13 points, while Chester Cokaliong and Bong Pineda chipped in 11 and 10 markers, respectively, for Los Jefes de Cebu, which advanced into the semifinal round undefeated.

Los Jefes de Cebu opened its title campaign with a 90-81 whipping of the stubborn Cagayan de Oro Executives.

Espinosa led Los Jefes de Cebu with 24 points, eight rebounds and two assists, Cokaliong nailed 12 points, while Misael Arias and Reynaldo Abarquez posted 10 markers apiece as they never looked back after enjoying a 51-45 lead at halftime.

Nike Roset, former Mama's Love star, had 20 points for the CDO Executives.

In their second game, Cokaliong came out firing, drilling in 12 3-pointers to finish with a tournament high 45 points in their 128-77 massacre of Los Caballeros de Zamboanga.

Cokaliong hit 29 points alone in the first two quarters to help Los Jefes de Cebu build a 12-point advantage, 46-34, at the turn. The lead grew beyond expectations as the game progressed.

Cokaliong, who made up from a bad shooting night during their first game, only had 12 triples, but finished with 45 points as tournament rules stipulate that if a team has already made four triples, the succeeding 3-point shots will be counted as four points.

Cokaliong was backed up by Hermogenes "Ancing" Anciado and Leo Manulat with 16 and 12 points, although it was evident that Los Jefes de Cebu is a well-balanced collection of cage stars.

Former PBA standout and PBL coach Bai Cristobal played for Zamboanga, but was held off to only seven points.

Los Jefes de Cebu ended the elimination round with a winning margin of 30.33 points per game.

The scores
First game
Los Jefes de Cebu (90) - Espinosa 24, Cokaliong 12, Abarquez 10, Arias 10, Naron 7, Ortega 6, Pineda 6, Cabaltera 5, Gajudo 4, Lawas 4, Maninang 2
Cagayan de Oro (81) - Enteria 28, Rosete 20, Villareal 18, Winstanley 12, Pabillose 2, Contrevida 1 Second game
Los Jefes de Cebu (128) - Cokaliong 45, Anciado 16, Manulat 12, Naron 10, Maninang 9, Tan 6, Gajudo 6, Pineda 6, Ortega 4, Espinosa 4, Cabaltera 4, Abarquez 2, Lawas 2, Arias 2
Zamboanga (77) - Fernando 15, Go 14, Ati 10, Caragan 8, Cristobal 7, Lui 7, Carpio 4, Matondo 4, Salian 3

Third game
Los Jefes de Cebu (88) - Naron 16, Espinosa 13, Cokaliong 11, Pineda 10, Lawas 8, Maninang 7, Arias 7, Cabaltera 4, Ortega 4, Abarquez 4, Manulat 2, Anciado 2
Iloilo (57) - Cafalla 9, Espora 6, Recata 6, Palmares 5, Pelaez 5, Gepayo 5, Padilla 5, Granada 4, Poral 4, Uy 4, Luna 2, Sorioso 2-