CEBU, Philippines - The triumvirate of Chester Cokaliong, Stephen Tan and Joel Chan stole the thunder as the third seeded Shell '80s shackled the fourth-ranked Dimsum Frito 2003, 78-61, for its second straight win in the semifinal round of the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association's 12th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup last Thursday night at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.
Cokaliong again spewed fire from the field, churning out 27 points spiked with nine triples including three straight in a game-closing 11-0 run underneath the final two-minute mark of the contest that broke the backs of the younger graduates.
Stephen Tan netted 23 points, while Chan, aside from tending their backcourt with precision, chipped in 15 markers for Shell '80s, which stayed as the only unbeaten squad in the semis while booting Dimsum Frito 2003 out of contention with three consecutive defeats.
Just like in their previous meeting during the elimination round, Cokaliong and his comrades found Class 2003 a tough customer to handle as they even trailed by two points at halftime, 32-34.
Class 2003 held on to lead for the last time at 38-34 as Cokaliong darted back-to-back treys sandwiching Chan's five straight points in a blistering 14-0 spurt that suddenly gave Shell '80s a 48-38 advantage midway in the third period.
Still, Class 2003 refused to roll down and just die, keeping the battle close until the closing minutes of the contest. The Dimsum Frito-backed side threatened for the last time at 61-67 as the red-hot Cokaliong bombed three more triples to seal the deal for Shell '80s.
In the other game, the fifth seeded Dewfoam '88 kept its championship hopes alive after it stunned top qualifier New Millennium Hardware '95 by the slimmest of margins, 52-51.
Ernest Tanting scored 12 and Ricky Yu added 10 points for Class '88, which moved a full game ahead of its victim with a 2-1 win-loss record.
Class '95, led by Donald Anthony Ting with 11 points, fell to 1-1 and now faces a predicament of sweeping its remaining two games to keep its title hunt alive.
The scores
First game
Class '80s (78) - Ches. Cokaliong 27, S. Tan 23, Chan 15, Yu 7, Chris. Cokaliong 2, S. Co 2, Lim 2
Class 2003 (61) - Catipay 18, Y. Tan 10, Uy 8, Yankee 8, Ang 6, C. Ciao 4, H. Tan 2, Ceniza 2, Lague 2, Veneracion 1
Second game
Class '88 (52) - Tanting 12, Yu 10, Lim 8, Ng 7, Aguilar 6, Dy 4, Po 3, Yu 2
Class '95 (51) - Ting 11, Yu 9, Ho 8, Gollon 8, Dy Teves 6, Arjona 5, Tiu 4—(FREEMAN)