Lipa fan cans LBC longshot, wins P100 T

It pays to be an MBA fan, Gilbert Olap found this out on Sunday when he won P100,000 in the LBC Longshot Basketball Challenge at the Lipa Youth and Cultural Center.

Olap, of San Isidro, Lipa City, sank his lone attempt from mid-court to bag the juicy plum right on its initial offering during the half- time break of the LBC Batangas-Osaka Pangasinan tussle in the MBA First Conference.

The 26-year-old Olap was among five ticket holders chosen for the LBC Longshot Basketball Challenge. Each received P500 before taking the mid-court shot.

The LBC Longshot Basketball Challenge will be a regular feature of the MBA games on Saturdays and Sundays, according to Javi Mantecon, LBC marketing director. For every staging that no one makes the mid-court shot, P10,000 will be added to the P100,000 pot.

Today’s lone game pits Cebuana Lhuillier against LBC Batangas at 6 p.m. also at the Lipa Youth and Cultural Center.

Both the Gems and the Blades are gunning for semifinal berths, with the Blades ranked at second in the Northern Conference with a 4-win, 3-loss mark. The Gems are lodged at third in the Southern Conference with a 5-3 card.

Cebuana Lhuillier is trying to recover from a 97-75 beating it received from Professional Davao, while LBC Batangas is bidding to follow up its 89-86 conquest of Osaka Pangasinan on Sunday.

LBC Batangas, the reigning national titlist, will draw firepower from Eddie Laure, Jeffrey Sanders and Alex Compton, while Cebuana Lhuillier will bank on Bruce Dacia, Stephen Padilla and Jercules Tangkay.