Cebu - Adrian Laborte hit back-to-back triples in the closing seconds of the contest to lift the Rady Abarintos-mentored Assessment Division to a pulsating 59-56 victory over SUGBO Brokers, 59-56, and earn a share of lead in the 35-below division of the14th District Collector’s Cup, which shifted action to where it opened a month ago at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.
The Assessment, thus, joined Amancia Brokers atop the leaderboard with similar 4-1 win-loss records.
Laborte finished with 18 points for Assessment. His explosion was very timely as their other top scorer Viking Rollon arrived late in the game and contributed eight points.
After taking a 17-12 lead in the first period, the Assessment cagers saw themselves trailing by a hairline at halftime, 29-30. But an 18-11 scoring edge in the third period and Laborte’s endgame heroics buoyed Assessment’s daring comeback.
In the other game, the Mactan Hotmen stretched their undefeated streak to six games with a merciless demolition of the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. (CCBI) in the 35-above category.
In the opener, the Office of the Commissioner (O-COM) dumped the Port Operations Divison (POD), 80-63.
The scores
Assessment (59) - Laborte 18, Rollon 8, Enriquez 6, Pianyar 5, Cadungog 4, Marata 4, Ocon 4, Trinidad 2, Francia 2, Perez 2, Arreglo 2
SUGBO (56) - J. Orbina 21, E. Orbina 16, Atillano 6, Maningo 5, Lopez 5, Yu 2, Morre 2, Bongon 2 Halftime: 29-30. - GGM (THE FREEMAN)