CEBU, Philippines - The First Family Appliance Circle '96 gatecrashed what could have been a huge party by Chester Cokaliong as it escaped past Shell '80s, 78-71, in the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association's 12th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup last Sunday at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.
In one of his finest performances this season, Cokaliong shot 9-of-21 from the 3-point land to finish with a game-high 29 points on top of two rebounds but his big day was spoiled by Rushmarc Lariosa and Drefuss Ang, who hit crucial treys at the endgame to break the backs of Shell '80s.
The loss was truly a heart-breaker for Shell '80s, which dictated the pace of the match for most of the way. After trailing by five at the end of the first period, Cokaliong and his comrades charged back with savvy in the second canto to tie the score at the break, 35-35.
Shell '80 headed into the final quarter with a three-point lead, 56-53, but Class '96 slowly but surely worked its way to square the count at 65-65 and eventually seize the upperhand, 67-65, on a basket by Shaun Christopher Wang.
Summoning his never-say-die spirit, Cokaliong knocked his 9th triple of the day to put Shell '80 on top anew, 68-67, but that proved to be their last hurrah as Lariosa and Ang dropped consecutive bombs from beyond the arc to hand Class '96 the lead, 73-68, for good.
Wang had a solid double-double show of 17 points and 17 rebounds for Class '96. Ang added 16 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals, while Mark Ryan Babor donated 14 points and eight rebounds as they notched their 10th win against only one defeat.
Crafty playmaker Joel Chan came up with his third triple-double show, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, but fell short in the end as Class '80s saw its eight-game winning streak come to a sudden red stop. It was their third loss overall in a dozen games.
In the other game, Donald Anthony Ting sparkled with 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals as New Millennium Hardware '95 prolonged the agony of the listless Wild Rice 2007, 57-43.
Joseph James Yu chipped in 15 points, three rebounds, and two assists, while Dean Dy Teves contributed 13 markers on top of 10 rebounds for Class '95, which firmed up its grip of the solo lead with an 11-1 win-loss record.
Raymark Ryan Ong had 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Class 2007, which stayed winless in nine starts.
The scores
First game
Class '96 (78) - Wang 17, Ang 16, Babor 14, Go 9, Lariosa 7, Alinson 4, Chua 3, Gaw 2, Donayre 2
Class '80s (71) - Ches. Cokaliong 29, Chan 16, S. Tan 10, Chris. Cokaliong 6, W. Yu 6, Z. Tan 3, S. Co 1
Second game
Class '95 (57) - Ting 21, Yu 15, Teces 13, Gollon 4, Ong 2, Ho 2
Class 2007 (43) - Ong 14, Espada 11, Chang 6, So 6, Po 4, Bayer 2 (FREEMAN)