Que, Salihou rally Landmasters past Lion Tiger in Partner’s Cup

CEBU, Philippines - Stephen Que churned out 23 points spotlighted by crucial baskets in the windup, while Cameroonian recruit Ahmed Salihou added 14 points as the Cebu Landmasters-USC Warriors tamed the gritty Lion Tiger-USPF Panthers, 86-81, to close out their first round campaign with a 3-2 win-loss record in the Enervon CESAFI Partner's Cup 2013 men's basketball tournament the other night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Meanwhile, the Prime Asia Lending-UV Lancers shoot for a clean 5-0 sweep when they go up against the listless Raphael's Cafe/USJ-R Jaguars in today's opening match at 4 pm, right before Lion Tiger and Gaisano Capital test each other's mettle at 5:45 pm for their final assigment in the opening round.

Que, USC's prized Fil-Chinese catch last year, hit back-to-back triples that came to be the turning point of Cebu Landmasters' victory. His first trey broke a 68-all deadlock, while the second gave them a 76-71 underneath the final five-minute mark of the contest.

The Cebu Landmasters actually trailed by nine points at halftime, 36-45, but Salihou's seven straight points in the third quarter proved to be their wake up call.

Aside from his substantial contribution on the offensive end, Salihou also mounted a strong defensive wall that negated any comeback attempts by Lion Tiger.

Matt Batucan netted 18 points and Joseph Sedurifa scored 15 but their efforts were to no avail as Lion Tiger slipped to 2-2.

The scores

Cebu Landmasters (86) - Que 23, Salihou 14, Romaguera 9, Pepito 8, Adlawan 8, Ortega 7, Ayala 4, Seno 3, Rabat 3, Laude 3, Ypil 2, Duran 2

Lion Tiger (81) - Batucan 18, Sedurifa 15, Camello 8, Sollano 7, Cavalida 7, Abesia 5, Delalamon 5, Escanilla 4, Nudalo 4, Sastrilles 4, Mangaron 2, Virtucio 2, Ceniza 2

Halftime: 36-45 (FREEMAN)