Cebu, MisOr triumph

CEBU, Philippines -  The M. Lhuiller Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños squandered a 21-point lead in the second quarter but stymied a spirited endgame rally by Hobe-Taguig Global City to escape with a 95=86 win and kick off their bid for another title on a resounding note yesterday at the start of the Cebu Tournament of the Philippines (TOP) at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games today (Cebu Coliseum)

5 pmTaguig vs. MisOr

7 pmCebu vs. Mandaue

In the other game, the Misamis Oriental Meteors unleashed an amazing league-record of 30-0 run in their masteful 93-81 victory over the Mandaue-Cebu Landmasters.

The Niños waxed hot early to post a commanding 34-13 edge, but the gritty Taguig slowly crept back and whitle the deficit to just five, 80-85, with still 2:59 remaining in the game.

But that proved to be their last gasp of breath as the Niños responded with four straight points to take a 89-90 breather.

Abby Santos had 18 points, even as four others cashed in double figures for the Niños, who stretched their unbeaten to 26 games counting their 21-0 sweep during the last Liga Pilipinas Conference.

Earlier, just when the small throng of Mandaue supporters thought their team were headed for a smooth-sailing campaign after it posted an 11-point edge late in the first period, 23-12, disaster suddenly struck the Landmasters.

Ramil Tagupa hit a buzzer-beating triple that sparked a spectacular 30-rally that almost held the Landmasters scoreless in the entire second period. That landmark rally enabled the Meteors to mount an imposing 19-point bulge, 42-23.

It was a full 10-minute scoring drought for the Landmasters that ended by a triple by John Villaver with only 10 ticks before halftime.

As the Meteors rained shots at will on all angles in that furious blitz, the Landmasters' offensive was in complete disarray. They were very tentative in their plays, committed a spate of errors and missed several short and medium range jumpers.

The Landmasters couldn't get any closer than 10 points, 47-57, as the Meteors continued their relenless assault to post their biggest lead of 29 points, 88-59, with 4:17 left to play. The final outcome doesn't reflect of what was a clear rout as the Landmasters toiled hard in dropping garbage points towards the end of the contest.

Former PBA star Neil Rañeses, who had a flawless outside sniping, paced the Meteors with 23 points, Eder Saldua had 19, while Ramil Tagupa and Mark Andaya connived for 29 markers.

James Laygo topped the Landmasters with 18 points followed by Jay-R Gerilla with 14.

The scores

Cebu (95) - Santos 18, Basco 15, Ababon 14, Dacia 14, Padilla 13, Mepana 8, Ybanez 7, Magsumbo 4, Saladaga 2

Taguig (86) - Gatumbato 12,Fernandez 11, Vizcarra 11, De Castro 9, Sta. Cruz 9, De la Cuesta 8, Cacha 5, Guiyab 5, Lumungsod 3, Roguera 3, kiram 2. — EBV (THE FREEMAN)