Cebu Niños forge rubbermatch

CEBU, Philippines - Stephen Padilla performed below par from the 3-point land but earned a living from the free-throw line where he shot a perfect 6-of-6 in the final 33 seconds of the contest to pump up new life on the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-backed Cebu Niños with a 62-58 victory over the Misamis Oriental Meteors in Game 4 of the Smart-Liga Pilipinas Conference II National Finals last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Niños of Michel J. Lhuillier and head coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba, thus, tied the best-of-five series at two games apiece, with the sudden-death Game 5 being set for tomorrow at 5 pm still at the venue.

Just like the previous three games of the protracted series, it was a close-knit match that was accounted for nine deadlocks and 12 lead changes.

The Niños though owned the biggest lead of eight points, 55-47, behind an 11-0 run masterminded by Padilla, Mark Ababon, and Marlon Basco with still 2:25 left to play.

The Meteors of MisOr Governor Oscar Moreno pulled within two points on several occasions, but Padilla consistently gave the Niños a whiff of fresh air by hitting crucial free throws, the last two off a foul by Ramil Tagupa gave host Cebu a 62-58 cushion with only nine ticks left before the final buzzer.

In the game’s final play, Mark Yee goes for a fast-break play and then hurriedly flicked a 3-pointer, but the ball just bounced off the rim. The Niños secured the rebound just in time the gameclock expired.

The Niños almost flirted with disaster when Jercules Tangkay was whistled for a technical foul for swinging an elbow against Joey Mente and the Niños were ahead by four points, 56-52, with 45 seconds remaining. Fortunately for the Niños, the Meteors couldn’t make one good offensive after Yee sank the technical freebies.

Padilla topscored with 14 points for the Niños, who outrebounded the Meteors, 44-31. Basco added 12 markers followed by Abby Santos with 10. Interestingly, the Niños won despite top gunner Bruce Dacia getting zilch.

Yee was the lone double-digit scorer for MisOr with 12 points.

The scores

Cebu (62) — Padilla 14, Basco 12, Santos 10, Enriquez 8, Tangkay 6, Cavan 4, Ababon 4, Mepaña 4

MisOr (58) — Yee 12, Mente 8, Kong 8, Moreño 7, Daja 7, Micutuan 6, Gudez 6, Butel 2, Bombeo 2

Quarterscores:18-16, 29-27, 44-41, 62-58 (THE FREEMAN)