Class '96 marches into semifinal round; '84/87 lives for another day in CECABA

Defending champion Big Boss '96 served further notice of its serious title-retention bid as it kicked out Techni-Ice 2001 in convincing fashion, 96-62, to advance into the semifinals of the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association's 8th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup on Tuesday night at the City Sports Club Cebu gym.

It was a completely different story in the first game as Eco-Tech Appliance '84/87 scraped through a 53-52 cliffhanger over the twice-to-beat Armour Wood '81/85 to forge a sudden-death match.

Class '84/87 lived and fight for another day with the help of a mental lapse by Class '81/85 ace center Wilson Yu. Ironically, it was Yu who topscored his team with 15 points.

With the score stood at 50-48 in favor of Class '84/87 in the final 41 seconds of the game, Stephen Lee hit a 3-pointer to put Class '81/85 in front, 51-50.

Sammy Sia scored on a layup to help Class '84/87 grab back the lead, 52-51, but Joel Chan of Class '81/85 later split his charities to even the count at 52-all with 17 ticks left before the final buzzer.

With only five seconds to go, Henrich Chua of Class '84/87 missed a running jumper, but lady luck still smiled at the Eco-Tech Appliance-backed squad as Jeffrey Go picked up the offensive rebound.

Surprisingly, however, Yu quickly fouled Go instead of employing one solid defensive stop with only two seconds remaining in the game. Go made only one out of two free throws, but it came like a dagger that plunged into the heart of the heavily-favored Class '81/85.

Sia almost singlehandedly carry Class '84/87 to victory with a game-high 26 points. Chua and George Artus combined for 17 points, but they're not off the hook yet as they still have to face Class '81/85 in a do-or-die game this Sunday, with the winner marching into the next round.

Later in the day, Rex Alinson scattered 24 points and Rogelio Donarye added 21 markers as Class '96 toyed with the hapless Class 2001 all game long. The outcome was already beyond doubt when Class '96 built a 38-point bulge, 78-40, entering the last period.

Eric Cabana had 18 points, while Marlon Lao and Paul Martin Gabatan each scored 15 points for Class 2001, which already went to the showers.