Cokaliong drops 11 triples as Shell ‘80s crushes 2005

CEBU, Philippines - Chester Cokaliong was on fire again, darting in 11 treys of his game-high 35 points as the rampaging Pilipinas Shell '80s annihilated the listless PTT 2005, 73-51, in the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association's 12th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup last Sunday at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.

Cokaliong, who scored nearly half of the team's total output, completed a rare-four point play at the start of the second period where they outpointed the PTT-backed squad, 22-12, to mount a 15-point advantage at halftime, 42-25.

The red-hot Cokaliong wasn't done from there as he unloaded four more long-range missiles from beyond the arc in a blistering 28-8 run that gave Shell '80s their biggest lead at 30 points, 65-35, heading into the final 10-zone of the contest.

While Chester literally set the hardcourt ablaze with his shooting brilliance, his younger brother Christopher  Cokaliong as well as the likes of Stephen Tan and Joel Chan sparkled on the other facets of the game as Shell '80s notched its fourth consecutive victory and fifth overall in seven starts.

Christopher Cokaliong and Joel Chan scored only eight points apiece, but spectacularly combined for 29 rebounds, 13 assists and four steals. The ever reliable Stephen Tan banged in 11 points, hauled the same number of rebounds and dished out two assists to further highlight the Shell-backed squad's great teamwork.

Kent Benedict Uy had 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals followed by Ryan Chua added 10 points and five rebounds for Class 2005, which crashed to its fourth straight loss.

On the other hand, Mark Eugene Bukiron sizzled with 29 points and 15 rebounds as Jepoy '99 pulled off a 49-47 squeaker over Wild Rice 2007. Class '99 led all the way, then weathered a daring endgame fightback by Class 2007 to notch its fourth win against a solitary setback.

Raymark Ryan Ong was the lone bright spot with 24 points for Class 2007, which slumped to its third defeat in a row. (FREEMAN)

The scores

First game

Class '80s (73) - Ches. Cokaliong 35, S. Tan 11, W. Yu 9, Chris. Cokaliong 8, Chan 8, Mendez 2

Class 2005 (51) - Uy 13, Chua 10, Tiu 9, Lua 7, Uy 6, Ramiro 4

Second game

Class '99 (49) - Bukiron 29, T. Tan 8, Lao 4, Melliza 3, Dabatos 2, See 2, Baladya 1

Class 2007 (47) - Ong 24, Espada 10,  So 6, Bayer 4, Haw 2, Pilapil 1