Cebu Gems clinch title

The Cebu Gems survived the gritty stand of the Negros Slashers to carve out an 84-81 victory yesterday and rule the MBA Cebuana-Lhuillier Friendship Games before a roaring crowd at the New Cebu City Coliseum.

Matt Mitchell, Peter Naron and Homer Se delivered the goods as they helped the Gems regain the lead midway through the fourth quarter after the Slashers, who also had to contend with boisterous Cebuano fans, threatened to break the game wide open.

John Ferriols clustered seven points to give Negros its biggest lead at 71-63 in the third quarter. But the Gems’ double-teaming defense enabled the team to get back into the contest and pull off the come-from-behind victory.

The Gems took the 84-81 lead with only 7.7 seconds remaining and the Slashers had one last chance to either tie or win the game. But Dennis Madrid and Jomar Tierra, tasked to take the final shot for Negros, failed to shake off their defenders until the final buzzer.

"We have to give it to Cebu’s defense," said Negros coach Robert Sison. "My players really had a hard time in the latter part of the game."

Sison, however, refused to use the game as a gauge of his team’s chances in the MBA’s 2001 season, saying: "This is not the final indication of how we will fare during the season. Hindi pa ito ang labasan ng alas."

The Gems outrebounded the Slashers, 59-53, and scored 17 second-chance points against the four of Negros.

Mitchell turned in a well-rounded performance with 26 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and six steals while Naron added 23 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

In the battle for third place, the LBC squad composed of players from Manila and Batangas overpowered last year’s national champion San Juan, 86-77, behind the towering performance of Eddie Laure.

Laure scored 12 points, including two three-pointers, in LBC’s crippling 20-6 run which gave the team an 84-73 lead with only 2:18 remaining.