CEBU, Philippines - The Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology (SCSIT) Skyblazers rode on the heroics of 6-foot-8 center Rino Berame and Mark Abadia to defeat Ave Maria Sanctuary Park, 93-89, and grab the solo lead of the 1st M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Basketball Association (MLKP-CBA) season at the Cebu Coliseum.
Earlier, Talisay City scored another upset, this time at the expense of Asian College of Technology (ACT) Cyber Knights, 85-81, behind the 31-point explosion of Jayford Rodriguez.
Abadia's off-balanced shot from the baseline gave the Skyblazers a 91-89 edge in the final 8.7 seconds of the contest but he failed to convert the bonus shot off a foul by Ave Maria's Enrico Llanto.
All of a sudden though, Ave Maria lost its chances of at least forging an overtime when Alex Cainglet lost the ball from a wayward pass by Llanto, prompting them to foul Berame to stop the clock.
Berame then calmly sank his charities to seal the deal.
Berame paced the Skyblazers with 28 points followed by Abadia with 24.
Meanwhile, Talisay's victory brought them to solo third place with an even 2-2 win-loss mark, while the Cyber Knights lost three consecutive games after winning over Hotel Fortuna in the opening day.
The scores
First game
Talisay (85) - Rodriguez 31, Lusdoc 13, Belande 8, Bolias 8, Colegado 7, Reyes 5, Mercader 5, Basco 5
ACT (81) - Villaver 20, Nuñez 14, Caputolan 11, Galinato 10, Ursal 6, Akad 6, Sevilla 4, Sampelo 4, Luga 2, Bucao 2, Valencia 2
Second game
SCSIT (93) - Berame 28, Abadia 24, Padilla 16, Torion 9, Guangco 4, Garcia 3, Murillo 2, Daculan 2, Doy 2, Labares 2
Ave Maria (89) - Tangkay 18, Amores 15, Dacia 11, Llanto 10, Duran 10, Cainglet 6, Aying 6, Gabas 4, France 2, Alicaway 2, Ocañada 2, Delfino 1 (FREEMAN NEWS)