Gems struggle past crippled Metrostars

The Cebu Gems failed to exploit the absence of Manila Metrostars main man Rommel Adducul in the final half last night and barely escaped with a 93-88 victory in Game One of their MBA Intra-Conference best-of-three finals at the Cebu Coliseum.

The 6-foot-5 Adducul was sidelined after twisting his right ankle in the second quarter. But this did not stop the Metrostars from putting up a good fight, dragging the Gems into a tight contest before Mat Mitchell delivered the decisive blows in the dying minutes.

"That’s how tough Manila is. And that’s the reason why I have so much respect for that team," said Cebu coach Tonichi Yturri after his charged posted their 12th straight victory dating back to the elimination round.

"And this goes to show that we need to improve on a lot of things. It was not an impressive victory against a team whose star center was sidelined in the entire second half. The Metrostars fought till the end," added Yturri. 

Mitchell finished the game with 26 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, the last one leading to his crucial three-point play which gave the Gems a comfortable five-point lead with only a minute remaining. — Joey Villar