PBA’s old guards outshine young Turks in shootout

CEBU – Their legend lives on.

Given the opportunity to rekindle their glorious past, four retired champion long-range bombers grabbed it with authority, stealing the show from the cream of the present crop in the Saturday party of the 2004 PBA All-Star Week at the Mandaue Sports Center.

The past reigned in the present as Allan Caidic, Al Solis, Boy Cabahug and Rhoel Gomez humbled Ronald Tubid, Renren Ritualo, Mark Caguioa and Mike Cortez in a team three-point competition dubbed the Legends Challenge.

Caidic, Solis, Cabahug and Gomez, each one still gifted with golden shooting hands, combined for 55 points, beating the Youngsters by 12 much to the surprise of a huge cheering crowd in the venue.

Caidic, the most illustrious name in the field, reprised the role he had played so many times in the past, piling up the most number of points with 18 and providing the fitting climax in their amazing victory.

The Oldies were actually ahead by only one when Caidic, the 1992 three-point champion, finally took his turn to shoot.

The one-time league MVP had a sizzling start and went on to top Gomez’ 12 points, Cabahug’s nine and Solis’ 16.

Needing to make 19 points to force a shootoff on his turn, Tubid – ironically the champion of the regular 2004 three-point competition – succumbed to pressure, bleeding for seven for the Youngsters’ total of 43. Ritualo earlier made 14 and Caguioa and Cortez fired 11 apiece.

Caidic and Co. pocketed the cash pot of P30,000 put up by businessman-sportsman Jean Henri Lhuillier in the highlight event of Day Six of the PBA mid-year classic here.

In the regular All-Star skills events, the Southerners gallantly protected their turf against the Northerners to the delight of the Visayan fans.

Tubid, who’s from Iloilo, topped the three-point field that included Willie Miller, Mick Pennisi, James Yap, Rob Wainwright, Paolo Mendoza, Dondon Hontiveros and dethroned champion Jimmy Alapag. Ritualo, Caguioa and Cortez joined Tubid in the Magic Four in the eliminations, and thus gained spots in the Legends Challenge.

Purefoods’ Rob Johnson, whose Samareno mother was cheering on the gallery, successfully defended his obstacle course crown.

But Alaska’s Brandon Cablay foiled what could have been an all-South show as the Ilocandia pride ruled the initial staging of the trick shots competition despite an injured foot.

Tubid and Ritualo had a classic duel, needing a shootoff to decide the winner of the three-point crown. The former hit only 13 points in the elims but rattled off 19 in the finals while the latter missed matching by one his competition-best 20 in the elims. In the shootoff, Tubid beat Ritualo, 18-16.

Other scores in the elims were 15 for Cortez, 13 each for Caguioa, Tubid and Pennisi, 12 for Wainwright and Alapag, 11 for Hontiveros, nine for Miller and eight for Yap.

Disappointment was written on Wainwright’s face as he lost his rhythm and fell in defeat after the refs stopped his sizzling initial start due to technical problem. Curiously, he had gone perfect on the first rack.

In the obstacle course, the finalists were eventual champion Johnson with a time of 26 seconds, first runner-up Joey Mente in 54 seconds and second runnerup Gary David in 56 seconds.

Out after the elims were Wynne Arboleda, Paul Artadi, Mac Cuan, Felix Belano, Cortez, Rodney Santos, Topex Robinson and Tubid.

Cablay came out with the better tricks than Tony dela Cruz, Johnson, Hontiveros, Junthy Valenzuala, Caguioa, Miller, Cuyan and Gonzales.