In a great show of team effort, the Pilipinas Shell-backed Class ’78 toiled hard in the entire 40-minute skirmish before rolling past the gritty Chester Enterprises ’83, 72-68, to bolster its quarterfinal bid in the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association’s 9th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup on Friday night at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.
Class ’78 was without two key players in Joven Cimafranca and Efren Uy, but the likes of Wilty Yap, Wendell Sia, Mario Baluyos and Joselito Lee stepped up bigtime to compliment another prolific night by Cokaliong.
"My teammates really stepped up for we played without two key players (Cimafranca and Uy). I commend them for the efforts they’ve shown especially Mario Baluyos who played his best game for quite a long time now," said a very elated Cokaliong.
Cokaliong, who has carved his own niche in the local cagedom for his 3-point proficiency, topped Class ’78 with 24 points spiked with six triples on top of three steals, one assist and one rebound. He went 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
Class ’83 jumped to a 10-6 start, but Cokaliong bombed in three successive treys in a 15-4 run capped by his own free throws to put Class ’78 ahead by seven, 21-14, after the first period.
Cokaliong’s fifth 3-pointer of the night handed Class ’78 its biggest lead of 14 points, 36-22, with 2:22 left before halftime, but Class ’83 opened the third period with a 15-5 bang to wrest the driver’s seat, 46-45, on a three-in-one fastbreak play completed by Stephen Tan.
That proved to be Class ‘83’s last gasp of breath as Sia completed a 3-point play and then shot 3-of-4 from the foul line to hand the lead back to Class ’78 for good, 51-46.
Class ’83 stayed within striking range, but Class ’78 pulled away for nine-point edge, 64-55, on a short stab by Baluyos courtesy of a picture-perfect assist by Cokaliong with 4:25 left to play.
The closest Class ’83 could come was at 64-69 as Baluyos canned two free throws off a foul by Henry Yu to practically seal Class ‘78’s triumph, 72-64, with only 33 ticks left to play.
Christopher Cokaliong scored a basket and then Resil Yu hit a leaning jumper as the final buzzer honked to peg the final count.
Free throw shooting was one of the main components that spelled the difference of the game. Class ’78 nailed 20-of-29, but Class ’83 shot a paltry 6-of-17 from the 4.5-meter line.
Cokaliong was heavily backed up by Wilty Yap with 14 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in an awe-inspiring show of hardcourt versatility. Sia contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for Class ’78.
Baluyos scattered all his eight points in the crucial fourth period on top of seven rebounds and two steals, while Joselito Lee added 10 points and six rebounds. Playmaker Henry Villamor also deserved a special mention with five points, four rebounds and three assists as Class ’78 upped its win-loss record to 4-5.
Cesar Ting posted 18 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals, while Stephen Tan added 14 points and 17 rebounds for Class ’83. Christopher Cokaliong also netted 14 points on top of nine rebounds and three assists but couldn’t make an impact as Class ’83 suffered its third loss against six wins.
In the other game, Juan Borromeo, Jr. fired season-highs 18 and 18 rebounds, while Kevin Co added 16 markers, five rebounds and four assists as Young Builders ’91 slaughtered Anything Better Home Creative ’80, 99-59.
After closing the first half with a commanding 47-22 advantage, Class ’91 kept on pounding on the hapless Class ’80 to notch its seventh victory in nine stars. Class ’80 fell to 2-5.
Hernan Ong had a season-best 14 points for Class ’91, while Chester Benedict Go and Emerson Go connived for 25 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Tony Yu paced Class ’80 with 18 points and 11 rebounds followed by Stanley Uang and Alan Canda with 16 and 11 markers, respectively.
The scores
First game
Class ’78 (72) - Cokaliong 24, Yap 14, Sia 11, Lee 10, Baluyos 8, Villamor 5
Class ’83 (68) - Ting 18, Tan 14, Cokaliong 14, R. Yu 9, Calagos 6, H. Yu 3, Co 2, Lim 2
Second game
Class ’91 (99) - Borromeo 18, Co 16, Ong 14, C. Go 13, E. Go 12, Mission 9, Lim 6, De la Torre 5, Crisologo 4, Teson 2
Class ’80 (59) - Yu 18, Uang 16, Canda 14, King 11