CEBU, Philippines - The Lion Tiger Aerosol-UV Lancers closed the third period with a furious 20-9 run then played steadier down the homestretch to complete a clean 3-0 sweep of the highly-favored Gaisano Capital-UC Webmasters, 77-70, and seize the championship of the 5th CESAFI Partners' Cup last Thursday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
The least fans could have expected was that 6-foot-9 tower Junemar Fajardo will be missing in action for Gaisano Capital because it was reported earlier that he has to undergo a foot surgery after their loss in Game 2 of their best-of-five series last Tuesday.
Fajardo surprisingly showed up, hoping to bail out his team from crashing into a deep 0-3 hole. He pumped in a game-high 27 points but his efforts were not enough to foil Lion Tiger's party.
Gaisano Capital, which suffered its first three string of losses in any tournament since Fajardo joined the team a few years back, built its momentum in the third canto where it mounted a 48-33 lead with still 5:17 left to play in that stretch.
But Lion Tiger came back roaring with a spirited rally ignited by veteran guard Harold Cincoflores and John Michael Abad to pull within a striking distance, 53- 57.
In the fourth quarter when Gaisano Capital laid down its trademark gameplan of going to Fajardo most of the time at the post, Jerome Silva gamely rose to the occasion by tirelessly helping out Edrian Lao in double-teaming the UC skyscraper.
Silva had his finest game in the series, exploding with 17 points to help former UV superstar Felix Belano, Jr. win a title instantly during his first year as head coach of the UV Lancers.
Gaisano was ahead by three, 59-56, on a basket by John Raphael Aranas, but Silva drilled in a triple to knot the count, 59-all, at the final 7:51 mark of the contest. Cincoflores and Phil Mercader then took turns in hitting crucial shots as Lion Tiger hung on to a seven-point triumph.
Cincoflores paced the UV Lancers 21 points, while Abad chipped in 13 markers. Roger Pogoy, who had a lot of misses from the foul line, added 14 points for Gaisano Capital, while Robinson Mohammad and Aranas each scored 11 points.
Earlier, the San Marino Corned Tuna-SWU Cobras lifted the third place trophy after beating Rose Aquarius Merchandising-USPF Panthers in overtime, 75-69. (FREEMAN)