Niños cruise into Liga Cebu final

CEBU, Philippines - The M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños once again blew away a huge lead but swiftly regained their offensive bearing to knock down the GenSan-Pacman MP Warriors, 92-75, in the Cebu leg of Smart-Liga Pilipinas Conference 3 last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games today

(Cebu Coliseum)

5 pm Laguna vs. GenSan

7 pm Cebu vs. Quezon

With a clean 2-0 slate, the Niños of team owner Michel J. Lhuillier and head coach Raul “Yayoy” D. Alcoseba already assured themselves of a final berth. They still shoot though for a three-game sweep when they face the listless Quezon Red Oilers at 7 pm today.

Earlier, the Trace-Laguna Stallions stayed alive after whipping the Red Oilers, 83-70. They will figure in a sudden-death duel with the MP Warriors at 5:00 this afternoon, with the winner setting up a championship showdown with the Niños tomorrow.

The MP Warriors were in fighting mood only in the first few minutes of the game where they forged a deadlock three times, the last was at 9-all as Bruce Dacia, Woodrow Enriquez and Stephen Padilla strafed four successive triples to give the Niños a 21-11 advantage.

Cebu’s lead bubbled to as high as 20 points, 45-25, with 2:53 left in the second period, but the big-hearted Warriors rallied back with aplomb to whittle the deficit down to just seven points, 71-78, at the final 3:04 mark.

That was the best the Warriors could muster as Enriquez scored on a five-point swing and then dished out a nifty assist leading to a 3-pointer by Dacia that handed the Niños an 86-73 breather with 1:27 left to play.

After a basket by Don Mendoza, the Warriors somehow conceded defeat, allowing the Niños to sink three uncontested shots resulting into a 17-point demolition as the gameclock expired.

Dacia finished with 19 points, while Enriquez and Ariel Mepaña each charted 18 markers. Padilla hit all his 12 points from the 3-point land for the Niños, who were outrebounded, 43-36, but shot better from the field and committed less errors than the Warriors.

Christian Cabatu paced the Warriors of boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao with 17 points, while Mendoza and Louie Medalla submitted 15 and 11 points, respectively.

The scores

Cebu (92) – Dacia 19, Enriquez 18, Mepaña 18, Padilla 12, Basco 8,Saladaga 7, Ababon 4, Nailon 4, Santos 2

GenSan (75) – Cabatu 17, Mendoza 15, Medalla 11, Sagad 7, Coronado 6, Rubi 6, Conchca 4, Farochilen 3, Callo 2, Gonzaga 2, Recustodio 2

Quarterscores:21-14, 45-33, 63-50, 92-75   (THE FREEMAN)