Cobra stuns Cebu for TOP crown

CEBU, Philippines - Cobra Energy Drink caught M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala in its worst form to score a surprising 81-63 win and rule the seventh leg of the Tournament of the Philippines (TOP) yesterday at the Emilio Aguinaldo College gym in Manila.

Despite playing without head coach Lawrence Chongson, the Ironmen played almost flawless basketball, especially in the payoff period where they rattled their rivals with their air-tight defense.

“This is a sweet revenge because we lost by huge margin in the elims,” said Joel Palapal who called the shots for the Ironmen in the absence of Chongson who is also handling the University of the East in the UAAP.

Former UE star forward Parri Llagas came off the bench to led the Ironmen with 24 points, 12 of them in the payoff period where he knocked down two booming triples that somehow rubbed salt on the wounds of the Niños.

It was the second leg title of Cobra, having also ruled the Gensan stage of the 9-leg series.

In the first game, Jopher Custodio delivered a double-double performance to lead ANI-FCA to an 82-73 victory over MP Gensan as the Cultivators finished third.

The Niños, who won the 1st and 6th legs, shot poorly from the field, making only 22 of 66 tries, including 3-of-20 from the 3-point zone.

Former pro Stephen Padilla typified Cebu’s dismal shooting as he made only four points after missing all his six tries from the trifectaville.

Aside from scoring a revenge, the Ironmen also denied the Niños to become the first team in the league to win back-to-back leg titles in the tournament jointly sponsored by the Philippine Basketball League and Liga Pilipinas.

Also shining for Cobra were spitfire Rudy Linganay and pro-bound Val Acuna who finished with 12 and 10 markers, respectively.

Custodio tallied five triples to finish with 20 points aside from grabbing 10 boards in his best game so far in the tournament.

He was ably supported by Roel Hugnatan and Earn Saguindel who chipped in 15 and 14 points respectively.

The Cultivators led by 21 at halftime before stretching it to 57-27 midway in the third to practically settle the issue. Custudio had six straight points in that stretch.

It was a disappointing showing for the Warriors, who just two days ago made headlines after ending Cebu’s 30-game winning run that dated back in last year’s Liga Pilipinas’ Third Conference.

“We are a young team and our goal is to gain experience as we head into the playoffs,” said Ani-FCA coach Arsenio Dysangco.

We still have one more leg to compete in Taguig and I hope we can make it back to the Finals,” added the mentor who led his team to a runner-up showing to Misamis Oriental in the fourth leg hosted by Mandaue City.

The scores

First game

ANI FCA (82) – Custodio 20, Hugnatan 15, Saguindel 14, Arao 6, Dizon 6, Te 6, Membrere 5, Bautista 5, Cagoco 3, Palaganas 2

MP Gensan (73) – Yambao 13, Medalla 13, Raymundo 10, Pareno 8, Callo 7, Sagad 6, Nicdao 4, Pacquiao 4, Mendoza 4, Farochilen 3, Coronado 1

Quarterscores: 24-15, 43-22, 65-49, 82-73 .

Second game

Cobra (81) – Llagas 24, Lingganay 12, Acuna 10, Nabong 8, Barua 6, Canizares 6, Bagatsing 6, Espiritu 5, Afable 4

MLKP-Cebu (63) – Ababon 19, Dacia 12, Mepana 10, Santos 7, Cruz 6, Padilla 4, Basco 3, Magsumbol 2

Quarterscores: 20-12, 36-32, 59-48, 81-63 (FREEMAN)