Lhuillier forces sudden death

MANILA, Philippines - Stephen Padilla took over in the fourth quarter as M. Lhuillier Cebu stopped Misamis Oriental, 62-58, to force a sudden death for the 2009 Smart Liga Pilipinas Conference II national crown at the New Cebu Coliseum in Cebu City Saturday.

Padilla, who struggled for just five points in the first three games of the best-of-five series, fired eight of his topscoring 14 points in the last period as the Niños recovered in time to send the playoff to a winner-take-all match.

Padilla hit a triple to spark a telling 14-3 run with Marlon Basco, Jercules Tangkay and Mark Ababon joining the scoring spree that saw the Niños turn a 41-44 deficit into a 55-47 lead.

The Meteors fought back behind Mark Yee, who canned in two free throws off a technical foul by Tangkay as they closed to within, 54-56, 45 seconds left in the contest.