The Metrostars swept the Pasig-Rizal Pirates in the playoffs to earn a slot in the best-of-five North Finals against San Juan while the Cebu Gems clinched a Southern Finals berth after a masterful 96-79 knockout game win over the Iloilo Megavoltz Wednesday night.
Manila and Cebu, two cities with rivalries not only on the hardcourt but off it, figured in the 1999 national title series, with the Metrostars prevailing four games to two, but not after weathering a big Cebu surge.
Manila won the first two games but the Gems bounced back to level the series at 2-2. Before wildly cheering Cebuanos at the Cebu City Coliseum, the Gems had a golden opportunity to take a 3-2 lead but lost in a pulsating double overtime game.
Cebu has since lost Rob Wainwright and Dondon Hontiveros to another league, but coach Tonichi Yturri is hardly bothered.
"The Gems are a better team this year than the past two years, we may have had more stars before but this year our players sacrifice a lot more for the team, we execute a lot better," said Yturri.
Enjoying the full support of Cebuana-Lhuillier pawnshops, the Gems, unlike the three other conference finalists, had to go through a deciding Game Three to advance.
Fortunately, the Gems got big support from unlikely sources when Mat Mitchell and Stephen Padilla were hounded by tight defense, something they will need against the grimly determined Negros Slashers, who swept second-seeded Davao in the playoffs.
Mitchell and Padilla keyed Cebu’s Game Two victory over Iloilo which forced last Wednesday’s rubber match, where the duo failed to get going early, but Arnold Gamboa, fast-rising Homer Se and underrated defensive ace Carlo Sayon came to the rescue.
Padilla, however, still had the last say as he fired six straight points in the homestretch to hold off the Megavoltz’ spirited comeback and secure the victory.
Sure, another Cebu-Manila National title series will again spark hardcourt thrills replete with drama to highlight the community-based league’s third successful season, unless of course Negros and San Juan have other plans.