Patriots pull thru as Gems lose steam

Nueva Ecija fought back from 25 points down in the third quarter then held Cebu to eight points in the early going of the fourth quarter to humble the Gems in their turf with an 86-80 victory yesterday in the MBA FedEx Crossover Cup at the Mandaue Sports Center.

Eric Gascon fired 30 points while Willie Miller came up with 15 to power the Patriots from a 36-61 deficit early in the third and into the rousing victory that capped their stint in the season-opening conference for a 5-9 (win-loss) record.

The Gems took their seventh loss against six victories.

Although both teams were already out of the playoffs, the Patriots and the Gems still went out for the win since the teams' records in the current tournament and the next Intra-Conference stage will be added to determine the four semifinalists for the Northern and Southern Conferences.

The four semifinalists from the North and South will dispute the Northern and Southern Conference titles with the two champions clashing for the overall title won last year by the Manila Metrostars.

Cebu, fired up by the cheers of the hometown crowd, raced to an early 31-16 lead in the first quarter then hiked it to 20 at 52-32 at the turn.

But Gascon and Miller silenced the Gems, and the crowd, with their impeccable shooting with the Patriots unloading a 21-8 run in the third to seize the upperhand at 78-77. The Patriots held the Gems scoreless in the next seven minutes en route to the win.