Niños pound Meteors, claim Liga record sweep

CEBU City , Philippines  – The M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños saved their best for last and smothered the MisOr Meteors, 89-54, to complete a 21-game title sweep of the Super Leg of the Smart Liga Pilipinas at the New Cebu City Coliseum here late Sunday.

Mark Ababon fired 14 points while Frank Nailon, former pro Stephen Padilla and Liga 3 MVP Woodrow Enriquez tossed in 13, 12 and 10 points, respectively, as the inaugural champion Niños regained the crown they lost to the Meteors last year.

“When we lost to them (Meteors) last year, our boss was so angry he disbanded the team for two months so that really hurt everyone,” said Cebu coach Yayoy Alcoseba. “So when we had a chance to face them again, we gave it our all and didn’t allow the championship to slip off our hands again.”

What made it sweeter for the Niños was that they did it via a 21-game sweep.

“To tell you the truth, it’s not the sweep that we’re after, it’s regaining the title. The sweep was just an icing on the cake,” said Alcoseba.

Earlier, the Trace Laguna Stallions edged the Quezon Red Oilers, 92-91, to clinch third place.

Meanwhile, the next tournament, Conference IV, is scheduled on January 2010.

The event was backed by Smart, San Miguel Beer, Casino Ethyl Alcohol, Omega Pain Killer, ML Kwarta Padala, Molten, Accel, Calcium-Cee, Gatorade, Air 21 and Burlington with the sanction of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

Solar Sports will show the games of the Super Leg. Liga Pilipinas Classics are seen daily on Viva Prime Channel. For details, log on to www.ligapilipinas.net.

The finale was expected to be a tight, grueling battle after the Niños and the Meteors split the first two seasons of the fledgling league.