Class '67/83, '95 stay alive in CECABA

Chester Enterprises '67/83 and Rocket Battery '95 gunned down their twice-to-beat foes in contrasting fashion to keep their flickering semifinal hopes alive in the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association's 8th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup on Thursday at the City Sports Club Cebu gym.

Showing an admirable fighting spirit, the sixth-seed Class '67/83 escaped with a 62-60 victory over two-time Division I finalist Young Builders '91, while the seventh-ranked Class '95 blasted the second-seeded Dendramil Merchandizing '94, 62-50.

This marks for the first time in league history that lower-seeded teams forged do-or-die games over their higher-ranked rivals. For the record, four out of six lower-ranked squads stayed alive in the quarterfinal round.

The collision between Class '67/83 and Class '91 was a spine-chiller. The Chester Enterprises-backed squad led most of the way until Class '91 caught up with them in the final canto and grabbed the lead twice, the last was at 60-59 with less than a minute left in the game.

The ageless Zotico Tan, however, converted a crucial shot to put Class '67/83 back in front, 61-60. Resil Yu made it 62-60 after splitting his charities with nine ticks left before the final buzzer.

In the ensuing play, Class '91's Tommy Yu fired a 3-point shot, but the ball bounced off the rim. Still, lady luck smiled at them as Juan Borromeo Jr. grabbed the offensive rebound, but couldn't make any miracle as he flubbed a potential game-tying shot as the time expired.

Cesar Ting became Class '67/83's surprise package as he topped with 17 points. Zotico Tan added 12 points, while Christopher Cokaliong contributed 10 markers to offset Stephen Tan's season-low seven points.

Later, Archie Gue netted 15 points, while Dean Dy Teves and Raymond Gollon combined for 21-point output for Class '95, which never looked back after taking a double-digit advantage at the turn, 29-19.

Class '67/83 and Class '95 will collide anew with their respective opponents in a pair of sudden-death matches on April 20, with the winners marching into the semifinal phase.