Cokaliong carves milestone as Shell '78/85 ousts '87/94

CEBU, Philippines – Chester Cokaliong and the rest of his comrades in the Shell-backed Class ’78/85 weathered another storm.

Class ’78/85 had to toil hard at crunchtime and then rode on lucky breaks before kicking out the stubborn First Family Appliance ’87/94, 63-62, for its second straight win in the semifinal round of the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association’s 11th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup last Tuesday evening at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.

Wilson Yu, who copped the game MVP honors, topscored Class ’78/85 for the first time with 14 points, while Edvin Kaw chipped in 13 markers.

Cokaliong and Joel Chan dished out 10 points apiece for Class ’78/85, which struggled hard despite dictating the tempo of the match from the outset. Their biggest lead stood at 10 points, 18-8, on a basket by Hung Fai Wong late in the second period.

It was a double celebration for Cokaliong as he breached the 3,000-point plateau, becoming the nonly third player to achieve the feat since the league’s inception a decade ago.

Class ’78/85 protected a seven-point edge, 57-50, early in the final quarter, but Class ’87/94 charged back with sazzy to pull within just a hairline, 60-61, with less than a minute to play.

Class ’78/85 regained a 63-60 lead on a basket by Yu. He had a chance to up their lead to five, but Yu flubbed both his charities with 20 ticks left before the final buzzer.

In the ensuing sequence, Wilty Yap of Class ’78/85 committed an ill-advised foul against Henrich Chua from beyond the arc. Fortunately for Class ’78/85, Chua missed his first attempt, before dropping his next two shots from the stripe with only four seconds remaining in the gameclock.

With Class ’87/94 still having two fouls to give, Class ’78/85 merrily waltzed their way to victory. Another triumph over Young Builders ’91 tonight would earn them an outright entry into the Division I finals.

 Chua topscored for Class ’87/94 with 15 points, while Bronson Peña and John Quilacio added 14 and 11 markers, respectively, in a losing cause.

In the other game, RJX Transport Solutions ’99 also knocked on the finals door after blasting GCM Merchandise ’98-B, 72-50. After taking an early 16-8 lead, Class ’99 pounded Class ’98-B in the final half, 42-28, thus, the 22-point blowout.

Albert Uy topped Class ’99 with 15 points followed by Mark Eugene Bukiron with 14. Earn Saguindel and Kent Noeh Ang each scored 11.

Elvis Evangelista paced Class ’98-B with 15 points, while Robinson Yap added 13 in a losing cause.

The scores

First game

Class ’78/85 (63) - Yu 14, Kaw 13, Cokaliong 10, Chan 10, Yap 8, Lee 6, Wong 2

Class ’87/94 (62) - Chua 15, Peña 14, Quilacio 11, Jao 9, Chua 5, Yu 4, Lim 3, Lim 1

Second game

Class ’99 (72) - Uy 15, Bukiron 14, Saguindel 11, Ang 11, Sia 8, Yap 7, Balila 4, Lauron 2

Class ’98-B (50) - Evangelista 15, Yap 13, Yu 8, Escoton 7, Plaza 3, Co 2, Hernani 2 – EBV (THE FREEMAN)