Cebu makes finals in Coke PBA Nationals

CEBU, Philippines - Team Cebu racked up its fourth straight win and earned the first seat in the championship with a 49-34 thrashing of Cagayan de Oro at the national finals of the Coca Cola PBA Youngstars Basketball Tournament at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao, Quezon City.

In a game where Coach Jay Mar Canoy gave playing time to his reserves, Cebu took control of the game, allowed Cagayan de Oro to rally, before finishing off on a high note.

After taking a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, Cebu’s lead was slashed to 24-28 at halftime. Cagayan de Oro staged a rally to slice the lead to only two, 32-30, after three quarters with the reserves seeing a lot of action.

Cebu then went back to their big guns in the fourth period to settle the issue. Joshua Flores led Cebu with 14 points, while Orlan Wamar and Jifford Cahigas added 11 and 10, respectively.

In other games, Batangas continued its winning run, halting KABAKA Manila, 61-43, while Pampanga trashed Valenzuela, 54-34.

 While the win assured Cebu of a slot in the championship game, the big question is who they’ll face with the possibility of a three-way tie for second place looming.

Cebu is at 4-0, trailed by Batangas (3-1), Valenzuela (2-2), Pampanga (2-2), KABAKA Manila (1-3) and Cagayan de Oro (0-4).

If Cebu wins over Batangas, Pampanga defeats Cagayan de Oro and Valenzuela defeats Manila, Batangas, Pampanga and Valenzuela will be tied for second to fourth places with identical 3-2 win-loss slates. This will be resolved via the PBA quotient system (points scored/ points allowed). A simple two-way tie is broken via the winner over the other rule. (FREEMAN)