M. Lhuillier overcomes Agilas

M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala’s full-court trapping defense worked wonders at the endgame as the Jewelers held off the visiting Duterte Agilas-Davao to only two points in the final two-minute mark of the contest to escape with a 97-93 victory last night in the 2007 MVBA Second Conference at the Cebu Coliseum.

Game today

(Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex)

5:30 pm-Cebu Landmaster vs. Duterte Agilas-Davao

Davao’s lone output in that span of time was Buboy Berami’s short stab that tied the count at 93-all with 58 seconds left as Woodrow Enriquez sank a pair of foul throws off an Art Atablanco foul and then Bruce Dacia scored on a breakaway layup off his own steal that sealed the deal for M. Lhuillier with only 11 ticks left before the final buzzer.

The Davao Agilas actually began their three-game Visayas sojourn with fireworks and caught the Jewelers by surprise as they built a 16-point advantage, 39-23, on Wen John Te’s triple with still 6:36 to go in the second period.

But in just a wink of an eye, Davao’s huge lead evaporated as Jayford Rodriguez, Gerry Cavan, and Lou Gatumbato rifled four triples to fuel a blistering 30-10 rally capped by Marlon Basco’s buzzer-beating shot that pushed M. Lhuillier ahead by four at halftime, 53-49.

After two deadlocks (53-all and 55-all), the Agilas regained control of the match and even enjoyed an eight-point ege, 85-77, on Johnny Gonzaga’s trey in the final 5:45 mark.

The Agilas had their last taste of the lead at 91-89 as M. Lhuillier of longtime sportsman Michel J. Lhuillier and head coach Raul “Yayoy” D. Alcoseba rallied back to again wrest the driver’s seat, 93-91, on Ronald Capati’s one-handed slam that drew a warm applause from the gallery with only 1:31 remaining.

Berami knotted the count for the last time at 93-all as Enriquez and Dacia drilled in the insurance baskets for the Jewelers, whose pressure defense crippled the Agilas towards the end.

Dacia topscored with 19 points, Ronald Capati added 16, while Enriquez, Gatumbato and Cavan contributed 12 markers each as M. Lhuillier tightened its grip of the solo second spot in the Visayas Division with an improved 6-2 win-loss record.

Berami charted a game-high 26 points, but couldn’t make any difference as the Agilas crashed to their fourth straight defeat in as many games. They hope to end their jinx when they take on Visayas Division lead Cebu Landmaster today at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex starting at 5:30 pm.

The scores

M. Lhuillier (97) - Dacia 19, Capati 16, Enriquez 12, Gatumbato 12, Cavan 12, Rodriguez 10, Basco 6, Piodo 4, Padilla 3, Latonio 2, Caputolan 2

Duterte Agilas (93) - Berami 26, Gonzaga 13, Sagad 12, Mejurada 10, Te 9, Atablanco 6, Ilanga 5, Cabili 4, Delica 4, Delfin 2, Bajenting 2