MLSDF-Mantawi repeats mastery over Lilo-an to win Compostela U-21 cage title

The M. Lhuillier Sports Development Foundation (MLSDF)-Mantawi Traders Dream Team once again preyed on Lilo-an Selection's huge endgame collapse to walk away with a 74-66 win in their sudden-death final and grab the 10th Compostela Mayor's Cup Under-21 basketball crown on Thursday at the Compostela Sports Complex.

Joven "Yao Ming" Cortes, Francis Luigi Bercede, Phil Mercader and Jeffrey Moriles sparked a courageous fightback in the windup where MLSDF-Mantawi bombarded 25 points while holding off Lilo-an to a measly six-point output to complete another big turnaround after trailing by 11, 60-49, at the end of the third period.

Mantawi opened the final stretch with a 6-0 blast on Mercader's 3-pointer. Later, Cortes hit back-to-back baskets and Moriles converted a layup capping a 13-2 run that knotted the count at 62-all with 5:45 left in the contest.

As Lilo-an remained ice-cold after an explosive show in the first three quarters, Bercede cooly drilled in a wide open triple from the right corner to hand Mantawi its first taste of the lead, 65-62, since Jonas Jude Ybañez broke the ice of the match with a trey in a 6-0 spread.

Jose Manzanares scored on a quick layup to pull Lilo-an within 64-65, but the red-hot Bercede canned a running jumper to fuel a 6-0 spurt that gave Mantawi a 71-64 breather with just a minute left to play.

Playing like seasoned hardcourt warriors despite their youth, the Traders wisely slowed down the pace of the game to kill time before Moriles canned the insurance 3-pointer with 35 ticks left before the final buzzer.

Cortes topscored with 18 points aside from providing Mantawi a big lift with his tenacious rebounding ability at crunchtime. Moriles added 13 markers followed by Mercader with 11, while Bercede, Clint Florido and Anjan Cabahug combined for 23 points.

The Lilo-anons were led by Marlon Tagalog with a game-high 21 points. They staged a 13-5 burst to gain a double-digit lead heading into the payoff canto, but wilted under a renewed challenge by the exuberant Mantawi stalwarts towards the end.

On the other hand, Mantawi head coach Hermogenes "Ancing" Anciado, a former Crispa Redmanizer, basked in the glow of his third championship since he ventured in Cebu coaching circuit three years ago.

A former Crispa Redmanizer, Anciado spurred Sacred Heart School-Jesuit to the juniors division title in the ML Kwarta Padala Inter-School Developmental Basketball Tournament in 2004 and guided Southwestern University to the collegiate division championship in the Cebu City Olympics in that same year.

Interestingly, three father-and-son tandems were part of the celebration. They are Mantawi team consultant Eddie Ybañez, team manager and Mandaue City Councilor Glenn Bercede and assistant coach Montoy Singson, whose sons Jonas Jude, Francis Luigi and Arjay, respectively, form part of Mantawi roster.

The scores

MLSDF-Mantawi (74) - Cortes 18, Moriles 13, Mercader 11, Bercede 9, Florido 8, Cabahug 6, Ybañez 3, Jacobe 2, Arong 2, Espina 2

Lilo-an Selection (66) - Tagalog 21, Castro 17, Baribe 10, Guinaw 9, Rosal 7, Manzanares 6, Lopez 4

Quarterscores:16-13, 36-30, 60-49, 74-66