MANILA, Philippines - The M. Lhuillier-Cebu Niños returned to their winning ways by taking home the Manila leg of the 2009 Smart Liga Pilipinas Conference II Saturday night by beating the gritty Quezon Red Oilers, 93-84, in front of a big crowd at the San Andres Sports Complex in Malate.
After a very close first half, Jercules Tangkay starred in a 17-4 run to begin the final period, in the process giving the Niños their biggest lead of the ballgame with four minutes to play, 80-66. The Red Oilers repeatedly tried to come back by fouling to stop the clock, but the Niños shot 11 out of 14 free throw attempts in the final 2:30 to secure their first title this conference and their fifth leg championship overall in six tries.
“In the fourth quarter, the veteran poise of the players helped us a lot,” said winning coach Yoyo Alcoseba. “Their combined experience was a big factor in getting this championship. We want to get as many points as possible to have good seeding in the playoffs.”
The Niños vaulted from a tie for last place to fifth place with 19 Liga tour points. The Red Oilers are not far behind at sixth with 17. Only the top eight among the 11 teams will advance to next month’s playoffs of the conference supported by telecoms giant Smart, ML Kwarta Padala, Accel, Air 21, Burlington, Laptop Phoneshop Exchange, Nature’s Spring and Molten and sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
In the third canto, Marlon Basco and Bruce Dacia combined to give the Niños an 11-point edge, 55-44. Six free throws by Ramsey Williams pushed the Red Oilers to within a point entering the final period, 62-63.
Stephen Padilla scored four triples en route to 15 points and the leg Most Valuable Player crown after averaging 12.0 points and 4.3 assists over four games. Basco powered Saturday’s victory with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Manila Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno and Liga president and CEO Noli Eala handed out the trophies to the winners.
In games played earlier that day, the Manila Capitals salvaged third place by outlasting the MP Warriors of GenSan, 96-92.