CEBU, Philippines - Spunky playmaker Floyd Taboada scored on a barreling drive in the final 5.7 seconds of the contest to vault KIA Motors/CIT-U Wildcats to a 78-76 victory over San Marino Corned Tuna-USPF Panthers in the quarterfinal round of the 6th CESAFI Partner's Cup men's basketball tournament last Thursday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
The two protagonists figured in a closely-fought battle, with Jonas Misa of San Marino tying the count for the last time at 76-all on a buzzer-beating jumper with only 24.8 seconds left to play.
In the ensuing sequence, Taboada courageously dribbled hard towards their frontcourt and drilled in the game-clincher in the face of the outstretch arms of San Marino defenders that included Jomar Sollano, the tallest man on the floor.
San Marino had a chance to steal the win, but Joseph Sedurifa's hurried 3-pointer just bounced off the rim as the time expired.
San Marino trailed by as much as 17 points, 56-39, late in the second period, but they kept coming back in the fourth period behind the offensive outburst of Sedurifa, who cashed in seven straight points in the final two minutes including a booming triple before Misa's game-tying basket.
But Taboada played the fireman's role in extinguishing San Marino's great comeback effort.
Taboada and Allan Dimco finished with 10 points apiece, but it was Axel Rabaya who topscored for Kia Motors with 12 points.
Sedurifa paced San Marino with 19 points followed by Joshua Corcilles with 10 markers as Fritz Dajalos was limited to only seven points. The other missing link for San Marino were the Ferraren brothers Earvin and James, who finished with a paltry two points each.
The scores
Kia Motors/CIT-U (78) - Rabaya 12, Taboada 10, Dimco 10, Brigoli 9, Menguito 8, Pono 6, Graf 6, Baclaan 4, Sanchez 4, Tabalin 3, Taghoy 2
San Marino-USPF (76) - Sedurifa 19, Corcilles 10, Meca 9, Camello 9, Dajalos 7, Banate 6, Misa 4, Diapera 4, Sollano 2, E. Ferraren 2, J. Ferraren 2, Alviva 2 (GGM) (FREEMAN)