Drawing excellent form from Patrick Cabahug, the Toyota Otis Sparks stopped Mail & More’s six game winning run with a masterful 81-71 win at the Olivarez Sports Center.
Not to be outdone, the Harbour Port Masters stretched their own run to four by beating the TeleTech Titans in double overtime, 93-83, behind the breakout game of former Ateneo hotshot JC Intal.
Intal fired 27 points, including four triples in the last 10 minutes of play to lead the Port Masters to their sixth win. With their wins, the Port Masters and Sparks tied idle Henkel Sista at 6-3.
But the Port Masters have better chance to nail down the first semis berth since they will have winless Kettle Korn as their last assignment.
Enjoying his finest game so far, the lanky 6-foot-2 Cabahug, nephew of one of the league’s top shooters in the 80s in Elmer Cabahug, was simply unstoppable as he finished with an impressive 10-of-16 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from the arc.
"When he’s hot, he’s really hard to stop," said Toyota Otis coach Louie Alas of his ward who also had eight boards and an assist in 29 minutes of action.
Actually, the Sparks came through with a double-barreled attack as Jonathan Aldave also banged in two triples in a solid 19-point performance.
Despite the defeat, the Comets are already assured of a playoff for an outright semis berth after finishing the classification phase with a 7-3 record.
The Sparks can also forge a playoff if they beat the TeleTech Titans on Tuesday.
But that’s not so important for Alas.
"All I want is for the team to remain in good shape. We have to keep our momentum going," said Alas. "If we have to go through a playoff it’s just fine for us,"
Scoring in spurts behind the creative plays of Marvin Cruz, the Sparks took a 36-22 lead early in the second quarter. But the Comets, hoping to stretch their winning streak to seven, made a run of their own to close in at 40-44.
But that proved to be the closest the Comets could come as Cabahug, Aldave, Cruz and Christian Coronel came through with clutch baskets to keep their rivals at bay.
Aside from the splendid shooting of Cabahug and Aldave, Alas also paid tribute to their transition defense that made lives miserable for JR Quinahan and Mike Bravo.
Quiñahan and Bravo, the team’s the 1-2 punch, were limited to just seven and four points, respectively.
With their energy and aggressiveness, the smaller Sparks surprisingly outrebounded the taller Comets, 53-48.