Insular Life hands Barkada first loss; SCBHABA routs JBA in Executives Cup hoopfest

Insular Life squandered a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter but regrouped in time to escape with a 99-96 victory over the previously unbeaten Team Barkada in the 2006 Executives Cup basketball tournament at the City Sports Club Cebu gym.

Insular Life's victory created a three-way logjam atop the leaderboard with Team Barkada and the M. Lhuillier-backed San Carlos Boys High Alumni Basketball Association (SCBHABA), which also held a 3-1 win-loss record after it demolished Jaycees Basketball Association (JBA)-Purcia Transport/Crunchicken, 94-80.

Ray Eduave was fuming from start to finish, hitting 3-of-4 from the 3-point land, 7-of-13 from the 2-point field goal and 6-of-8 from the foul line on the way to a season-high 29 points for Insular Life.

Eduave, who also had nine rebounds, five assists and three steals, was heavily backed up by Roy Joseph de Guzman with 27 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals on a remarkable 10-of-14 sniping from the field.

Trailing by as much as 14 points with just a few minutes gone by in the final canto, Team Barkada staged a daring fightback to trim its deficit down to a single digit, but Eduave, de Guzman, and Aikan Cabañero quickly came to Insular Life's rescue.

Cabañero banged in solid figures for Insular Life with 19 points on top of 13 rebounds.

Team Barkada hugely felt the ill effects playing without one of its top gunners in Pablo Yu.

Reynold Zamora gamely picked up the scoring cudgels to topscore Team Barkada with 23 points on top of 10 rebounds and a league-record 13 assists.

Danny Lim added 19 points, Edgar de la Calzada 14, while Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama and Richard Molina each had 13 markers, but still they fell short as Team Barkada saw its three-game winning streak come to a screeching halt.

In the main game, the SCBHABA stalwarts built as much as 23-point lead in crushing JBA, thereby sending a strong message to their rivals they're a serious title threat.

SCBHABA typified teamwork with five players dishing out twin figures led by star center Paul Abais with 21 points and 15 rebounds followed by Edwin Banaag with 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Virgil Pua and Zanoria added 11 markers apiece and Dindo Sausa had 10 for SCBHABA, which sent JBA groping for form after taking 66-51 edge at the end of the third period.

Archie Coros tossed in 27 points and Edmund Oduilo had 21 as JBA slipped to 3-2.

Games Sunday

1:30 pm CECABA All-Stars vs. City Sports Club

3:00 pm SHABA vs. CECABA Selection

The scores

First game

Insular Life (99) - Eduave 29, De Guzman 27, Cabañero 19, Llanos 10, Romanos 8, Gurrea 2, Villegas 2

Barkada (96) - Zamora 23, Lim 19, De la Calzada 14, Rama 13, Molina 13, Borres 10, Godiz 2, Reformina 2

Second game

SCBHABA (94) - Abais 21, Banaag 15, Pua 11, Zanoria 11, Sausa 10, Wong 8, Caballero 6, Amores 6, Bacaltos 2, Villamor 2, Angan 2

JBA (80) - Coros 27, Odulio 21, Jayme 12, Noel 8, Chua 4, Purcia 4, Te 2, Rosal 2