Team Pacman of boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao brightened up its chances of barging into the crossover semifinals after outlasting the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association (CECABA), 103-96, in the 1st MP Cup Invitational last Sunday at the University of San Carlos (USC)-Main Gym.
The Pacman mainstays went off to a blistering start and led by as much as 20 points, 73-53, with just a few minutes gone by in the third period.
Behind the efforts of Richard Yu, Edwin Kaw, Richard Lanutan, and Mitchel Diputado, the CECABA stars staged a courageous fightback to threaten at 92-95 with less than three minutes left to play. The Easternians could have even gotten closer, but Lanutan lost control of the ball in a controversial last-touch violation.
Hoping to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, CECABA coach Calvin Tuadles fielded in top hitman Chester Cokaliong entering the final two-minute mark of the contest. The dreaded triggerman, however, had to be taken out of the game after he was accidentally hit by Yu’s elbow that opened a small cut on his forehead.
With the unforgiving pressure defense of Jingjing Rama and Tata Baclay, Pacman succeeded in clamping down Cokaliong’s offensive arsenal. Cokaliong was limited to only five attempts from the 3-point land and was held scoreless for the first time in the league.
Louie Navarro topscored with 20 points followed by Baclay with 17 for Team Pacman, which never looked back after taking a 14-point advantage at halftime, 57-43.
Four other players submitted double figures as Team Pacman grabbed the solo second spot in Bracket A with an improved 6-1 win-loss record.Noel Talas and Joel Gallego each had 14 points, while Rama and Butchoy Pumareja chipped in 13 and 11 markers, respectively.
Diputado had 19 points, while Yu, Kaw, and Lanutan connived for 47 points for CECABA, which snapped out of its five-game winning streak and fell to solo third place with a 5-2 win-loss card.
In the other game, Club Monday finally barged into the winning column after eking out a close 79-76 decision over the Cebu Sports Media Association (CSMA) Hoopsters —EBV