M. Lhuillier affirms mastery vs. Mantawi in MVBA hoop

Stephen Padilla fired 13 of his topscoring 21 points in a decisive fourth quarter assault to lift the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Jewelers to a precarious 72-65 victory over the Mantawi Traders in the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) First Conference on Tuesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Now leading the Visayas division with an immaulate 6-0 win-loss record, the Jewelers hope to make its seven-in-a-row when they visit the 4-1 Cebu Landmaster-Toledo City of realtor Jose Soberano at 5:30 today at Pinamungajan Sports Complex in Toledo's neighboring town of Pinamungajan.

For three quarters, the Jewelers had a hard time solving the tough offensive puzzle presented by Mantawi until Padilla, who only scored four points in the first half, sparked a fierce endgame assault highlighted by three crucial 3-pointers that plunged like dagger to the Traders' hearts.

It was a close encounter that was accounted for four deadlocks and 17 lead changes, the last was on Padilla's triple right in front of Mantawi's bench that gave M. Lhuillier of coach Raul "Yayoy" Alcoseba the lead for good, 58-57, with still 6:10 left in the game.

Mantawi of coach Eddie Ybañez had its last taste of the lead at 57-53 on Arnel Lozano and Miguelito Ducay's back-to-back treys as M. Lhuillier fired back with a blistering 10-0 run to gain a 63-57 breather entering the final five-minute mark of the contest.

Padilla later sank two straight layups and then canned a booming triple before Danny Aying nailed a pair of free throws to give M. Lhuillier its biggest advantage at 72-63 with 1:57 left before the final buzzer.

Padilla, who nailed a total of five triples, was backed by Jayford Rodriguez and Woodrow Enriquez, who combined for 21 points as M. Lhuillier fortified its hold of the lead with a clean 6-0 slate in the league backed by ML Kwarta Padala, Cokaliong Shipping Lines, Molten, Panasonic, Nature's Spring Drinking Water, and Sulpicio Lines.

Although they failed to avenge their 90-93 loss in overtime to M. Lhuillier during their first meeting last March 31, the Traders deserved a hearty pat on their backs for giving the Jewelers one hell of a fight despite their top gunners Rino Berame and Randy Sevilla was benched almost the entire second and third quarters due to foul trouble.

Mantawi's twin towers played for only two minutes in that span, but surprisingly, the Traders were able to push the Jewelers to the limit, thanks to the able leadership of flashy guard Kim Calo.

Calo and Doroteo Almacin topped Mantawi with 12 points apiece followed by Joseph Guangco with 11, but the missing link was Berame and Sevilla who were held off to season-lows six and four points, respectively, as the Traders slipped to 2-3.