Gems trip Voltz, gain MBA final

The Cebu Gems weathered the Iloilo Megavoltz’ rally down the stretch to pull off a 96-79 victory in a bruising game last night and advance to the MBA Southern Conference final before a wildly-cheering home fans at the Cebu Coliseum.

Stephen Padilla delivered the crucial points in the last three minutes as the Gems scuttled the Megavoltz’ fightback from 19 points down to complete their remarkable comeback from a 0-1 playoff deficit and win their best-of-three series, 2-1.

The victory thus set up the Gems against their regional rivals in the Negros Slashers for the Southern Conference crown with the Manila Metrostars and the San Juan Knights disputing the other title in the Northern Conference.

Padilla, left open by a scrambling Iloilo defense, buried a triple in the last 3:20 that practically held off the Megavoltz, who fought back from a 44-63 deficit in the third quarter to move within, 77-79.

Virtually relieved of the pressure, the Gems, who also drew a solid game from Arnold Gamboa, then forced the Megavoltz to a crucial turnover before Padilla completed another three-point play to put the outcome beyond doubt.

"We executed our plays at the start but they seemed to have relaxed in the closing minutes. It’s not a good sign specially against a good team like Iloilo but we made the needed adjustment," said Cebu coach Tonichi Yturri.

Gamboa finished with 25 points and had 11 rebounds on a night Matthew Mitchell struggled offensively.

The Gems dropped a 98-100 victory at home last week but forced the sudden death with a 91-86 victory last Sunday at the San Andres gym. — Joey Villar