Spring cops interclub title

CEBU CITY – Spring Cooking Oil banked on Jeremy Robinson’s last-quarter heroics to turn back ML Kwarta Padala, 85-79, and capture the National Interclub basketball crown Thursday night at the Cebu Coliseum here.

With the high-leaping Robinson leading the offensive, Spring wiped out a seven-point third-quarter deficit and finished off its rivals with a 10-4 spurt in the last two minutes.

"The boys played with a lot of guts. I did not make any adjustments. I just told them to play hard and tough," said Spring coach Tito Palma, who added the Interclub title to his team’s success in last year’s national championship.

Team owner and national shooting champion Nathaniel "Tac" Padilla and his father, Olympian Mariano "Tom" Ong, praised their "stout-hearted players for a job well done."

Spring took over the Interclub crown from M. Lhuillier, which routed Korea’s Konkuk University, 98-85, in an earlier battle for third place.

Robinson topscored for Joel Co who was named the tourney’s most valuable player.