Worldwide Steel rules Winners' League hoop

Worldwide Steel consummated a two-game sweep over Cokaliong Shipping Lines in their best-of-three finals series with an emphatic 93-82 win in Game 2 to clinch the championship of the 2006 Winners' League basketball tournament last Sunday at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.

Worldwide Steel suffered a serious blow early on when its top gunner Walter Ong was thrown out of the game for engaging in a near fistfight with Cokaliong's Joel Cal with just a few minutes gone by in the second period.

But Walter's brother Kent took charge in heroic fashion, tossing in 31 of his season-high 41 points in the second half to almost singlehandedly carry Worldwide Steel to victory.

Surprisingly, the fate of Walter did not dampen the spirits of the Worldwide Steel chargers. It even produced positive results as they used it as a motivation in staging a 22-13 rally in the second canto to convert a 20-24 deficit into a 42-37 advantage at halftime.

Kent Ong, who got nil in that tide-turning run, transformed himself into a one-man wrecking crew in the third quarter where he unloaded 18 markers in a 25-19 run that padded Worldwide Steel's lead to 11 at 67-56 cushion heading into the final period.

Feared sharp-shooter Chester Cokaliong courageously lifted the spirits of his teammates by bombarding five crucial 3-pointers to pull Cokaliong Shipping within six twice, the last was at 74-80 with less than five minutes left to play.But that was the closest Cokaliong Shipping could come as Kent Ong scored eight of Worldwide Steel's last 13 points to secure their victory and spoil a scintillating offensive show by Chester Cokaliong.

Cokaliong sank nine triples of his 33-point finish. He could have done even better, but was deprived of the ball by his comrades in the last four minutes. Gilbert Gajudo had 19 points and nine rebounds, but support from the rest of the team came in trickles.

Even though they failed to tame the mighty Worldwide Steel, Cokaliong is happy with the performance of his team.

"We have reached our goal that is to get into the championship round. I'm already satisfied with our performance considering that we're the only 35 years old and above entry out of the six participating teams," said Cokaliong.

It is noteworthy to mention that Cokaliong Shipping - a team whose players has an average age of 44 years old - put up a valiant stand against Worldwide Steel - a youthful squad manned by hardcourt warriors with an average age of 21 years old.

"We are fortunate to have reached this far. Winning the crown could have been a bonus," said Cokaliong, this season's scoring champion.

Meanwhile, the Winners' League season formally winds up on December 3 with the exciting shootout featuring the free throw shooting contest, 2-ball competition and three-point shootout.

The scores

Worldwide Steel (93) - K. Ong 41, Go 10, Sy 10,Razon 8, Hing 7, Uy 6, Cabataña 5, W. Ong 5, Huang 2

Cokaliong Shipping (82) - Cokaliong 33, Gajudo 19, Huang 10, Yeo 6, Cokaliong 6, Chan Lim 4, Boholst 2, Mercado 2