Slashers, Gems duel for MBA-Cebu title

Old rivalries die hard, especially when they are rooted in culture and history.

And the Cebuano basketball crowd will witness another epic clash at the New Cebu Coliseum when their Cebuana Lhuillier Gems meet the Negros Slashers at 4 p.m. for the championship of the MBA Cebuana-Lhuillier Friendship Games.

Northern Conference teams, LBC Blades and the Andok’s Knights, will contest third place in the 2 p.m. opener.

The Slashers ripped the LBC Blades, 101-94, yesterday to take the first finals slot. The Gems followed with their own 105-82 trashing of Andok’s (San Juan) Knights.

Andok’s was trailing 9-23 at the end of the first quarter but regained composure in the second to keep up somewhat with Cebuana-Lhuillier without actually catching up at any point in the game.

The visiting team was reportedly tired from an early 5:30 a.m. same-day flight to the Queen City of the South. But coach Tonichi Yturri believes that does not take anything away from the victory.

"The boys sacrificed a lot by trying to execute our plays as a team despite the big lead early on," said Yturri of the host team.

"Hindi na rin masama," said Knights shooting ace Christian Calaguio."After all, one week pa lang kaming nagpa-practice. Tryouts lang ’yung dati."

The Gems outplayed the Knights in all departments save for steals. They shot better, 53 percent to Andok’s 29 percent from the field. With a 47 to 37 difference in rebounds and 22 to16 in assists, Cebuana Lhuillier had no reason to doubt the eventual outcome of the match.

Key originals Matt Mitchell, Homer Se and Stephen Padilla combined for 34 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists, four steals, and four blocks.

This was complemented by new recruits, Max Delantes and Peter Naron, with 30 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, four steals, and one block.

Yturri says it is a different story altogether in today’s showdown against archrival Negros. "They are definitely in better shape than most of the teams, having stayed together for a while."

However, the Cebuana Lhuillier mentor is relying in his staff’s scouting and believes that his hardworking players can neutralize the Slashers’ key men.