M. Lhuillier cage tourney shifts to Inayawan tonight

CEBU, Philippines - The 1st M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Cup basketball tournament shifts action tonight to the Inayawan Sports Complex with an exciting triple-header on tap.

The undefeated Ave Maria Sanctuary Park/USJ-R Jaguars will go up against the San Remigio Beach Club in the second at 7:30 pm, right after the showdown between Binglens and the Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology (SCSIT) Skyblazers at 6:30 pm.

In the main game at 8:30 pm, the CSD Power Brokers will go up against the 24/7 Convenience Store.

Powered by the present and former stars of the USJ-R Jaguars in the mold of John Malinao, Luther Luke Justiniana, Bobby Hatague and Armand Ponce, Ave Maria currently perched alone atop the leaderboard with an immaculate 5-0 record.

Ave Maria of team owner Raffy Senining is heavily favored to notch its sixth consecutive win against the Adrian Lao-SRBC, which stood at fifth place in the overall standings with a 4-3 win-loss record.

The Binglens, on the other hand, seek to improved their 5-3 card and they are likely to succeed as they go up against the lowly but upset-seeking SCSIT Skyblazers, who have only one victory in four starts, so far.

The CSD Power Brokers, for their part, tote an even 3-3 card, just a full game ahead of the 2-4 24/7 Convenience Store.

CSD banks on the services of commercial veterans such as Jerry Jaca, Aldrin Ocañada, Jan Montalbo, and Franklin Nailon to name a few, while 24/7 rely on the triumvirate of ex-collegiate standouts in Mark Abadia, Vernini Tangarorang, and Ignatius Mark Loyola.

Organized by M. Lhuillier through its marketing director Michael Roma, the league dangles a total of P100,000 in cash prize with the champion eating up the biggest chunk of P50,000. The second placer will pocket P30,000, while the third and fourth will get P15,000 and 5,000, respectively. – EBV (THE FREEMAN)