Class '98 shocks Class '95 in CECABA return

The Cokaliong Shipping Lines '98 returned to the league in glorious fashion, hacking out a stunning 88-77 upset over the heavily favored Rocket Battery '95 in the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association's 8th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup last Sunday at the Cebu Coliseum.

In the other game, Dewfoam '88 overhauled an early 1-14 deficit to smother Asian Home Appliance Center '89/93, 54-45.

Games today
(City Sports Club of Cebu)
7:30 pm 1994 vs. 2001
9:00 pm 1999 vs. 2005

It was no less than a rousing comeback for Class '98, which failed to participate last year due to lack of players.

Now with its lineup intact, Class '98 sent an ominous warning to its rivals by shocking Class '95. The Cokaliong Shipping-backed squad also gave Class '95's new coach Jojo Romarate a rude welcome.

Robinson Yap topped Class '98 with 22 points, Erick Andrew So, who claimed the player of the game honors, netted 21 points, while Jed Lawrence Co and Elvis Evangelista chipped in 15 and 13 markers, respectively.

Class '98 trailed by eight after the first quarter, 20-12, but fired back using a 23-15 run to tie the count at halftime, 35-all.

Class '98 outscored Class '95 in the third quarter, 28-15, to gain a 63-55 advantage heading into the final period. The younger graduates were never threatened from that point on.

Donald Anthony Ting exploded with 26 points for Class '95, but he had little support from the rest of his teammates except for Joseph James Yu and Dean Dy Teves who finished with 16 and 14 points.

Later in the day, Class '89/93 jumped off to a sizzling 1-14 start, but its lead dwindled down as the game progressed.

Down by 11 points at the end of the opening canto, 5-16, Class '88 fought back ferociously to crawl within two points after three quarters, 35-37.

Behind the efforts of Erwin Yu, Richard Yu, and Rey Kenneth Ng, Class '88 detonated a 19-8 bomb in the closing minutes of the game to tear Class '89/93 apart at the final buzzer.

Ricky Yu topped Class '88 with 17 points and E. Yu added 14 markers.
First game
Class '98 (88) - Yap 22, E. So 21, Co 15, Evangelista 13, P. So 5, Millan 5, Plaza 3, Escoton 2, Gochuico 2
Class '95 (77) - D. Ting 26, Yu 16, Dy Teves 14, Gollon 8, Ho 5, Go 4, Angcay 4

Second game
Class '88 (54) - R. Yu 17, E. Yu 14, R. Lim 7, Ng 6, Dy 5, Lu 3, Villamor 2
Class '89/93 (45) - W. Tan 18, A. Ting 11, Mendez 10, Ong 2, Ng 2, Chua 2