Slashers knife Eagles, take Game 1

Maui Huelar took charge for Negros in the last 60 seconds, scoring all but one of the team’s final five points to power the Slashers to a thrilling 96-90 victory over the Davao Eagles yesterday in the MBA national playoffs at the Rizal Memorial College gym in Davao.

Huelar’s endgame heroics came on the heels of Cid White’s explosion early in the fourth where the Fil-Am cager literally silenced the home crowd with a cluster of baskets that rallied the Slashers from 65-69 deficit for the lead and the headstart in their best-of-three series.

White scattered 15 of his topscoring 21 points in the final quarter, including a crucial three-point play in the last two minutes that shoved the Slashers to an 89-87 lead which they preserved with fine defensive gems and clutch plays.

A baseline jumper by 1998 MVP John Ferriols made it 91-87 for Negros and although Jomar Tierra put the Slashers on pins and needles with a triple in the ensuing Davao offensive play, 48 seconds left in the contest, Huelar stepped up to churn out the points that mattered most.

But the spitfirish Negros guard didn’t only score four points in that big Slashers windup but Huelar also came up with a steal and a big rebound that sealed the victory for the visiting squad.

Momentum will be on the Slashers side when they shoot for a place in the Southern Conference Finals next week in Game Two which they will host at the University of St. La Salle gym in Bacolod City.

Crossover Cup champion San Juan hammered out a 93-84 victory over Laguna in their own side of the playoffs at home to likewise move within a victory of barging into the Northern Conference finals.

Raffy Reavis scored 19 points, hauled down 19 rebounds and had three shot blocks as the Knights reasserted their supremacy over the Lakers, whom they swept to win the Crossover Cup crown.