Niños draw first blood Shackle Stallions in opener of best-of-five Liga quarterfinals

The M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-backed Cebu Niños of sports patron Michel J. Lhuillier and head coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba rode on a torrid offense in the final half to fend off Trace-Laguna Stallions, 91-85, and take a 1-0 upstart in the best-of-five Liga Pilipinas quarterfinals last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games today

(Cebu Coliseum)

3 pm Pagadian vs. MisOr

5 pm Cebu vs. Laguna

The Stallions surprised the Niños when they rolled to an 8-1 start, but the Cebuanos quickly found their rhythm to forge a 16-all deadlock on a thunder slam by Marlon Basco off a nifty assist by Bruce Dacia that closed the first period.

 The Stallions had their last taste of lead at 19-16 as Dacia and Stephen Padilla knocked in back-to-back triples to incite a 10-0 run that gave the Niños the lead for good, 26-19.

The Niños tasted a double-digit lead for the first time at 61-50 with 3:33 left in the third period. The Stallions pulled within 60-63, but that proved to be their last hurrah as the Niños responded with a blistering 18-4 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to register their biggest lead of 17 points, 81-64, at the final 5:45 mark of the contest.

The Stallions staged another daring rally sparked by John Valderama, who shot 4-of-4 from beyond the arc including two straight tomahawks that pushed them to within just six  points, 82-88, with 37 seconds left to play.

After a botched play by Basco, the Stallions could have even got closer, but Ricky Ricafuente’s triple just bounced off the rim with 10 ticks left before the final buzzer. Dacia and latest recruit Jojo Tangkay then went 3-of-4 from the foul line to seal the Niños triumph.

Basco had 20 points and Dacia added 17 markers for the Niños, who will shoot for a commanding 2-0 lead when they host the Stallions anew at 5 pm today. In the first game at 3 pm, the Pagadian City Explorers and Misamis Oriental Meteors will kick off their own race-to-3 series.

Three other players cashed in twin digits for the Niños. Ronaldo “Magic” Bucao, who dazzled the spectators with his flashy moves, finished with 12 points, Padilla 11 and Richard Ian Saladaga 10.

Gerwin Gaco paced the Stallions with 16 points followed by Nat Cruz with 14. Valderama hit all his 12 points from beyond the arc, while Ricafuente chipped in 11 markers for Laguna, which absorbed its third straight loss in as many games against Cebu this season.

The scores

Cebu (91) - Basco 20, Dacia 17, Bucao 12, Padilla 11, Saladaga 10, Mepaña 8, Capati 4, Tangkay 4, Rodriguez 2

Laguna (85) - Gaco 16, Cruz 14, Valderama 12, Ricafuente 11, Ebuen 11, De Guiao 8, Angeles 3, Santos 2, Decatoria 2

Quarterscores:16-all, 43-34,  65-60, 91-85 – EBV