Cebu halts Laguna five

MANILA, Philippines - M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu rode on a big second quarter run to beat Treston Laguna, 101-84, in the opener of their semifinal series in the Tournament of the Philippines (TOP) at the Cebu Coliseum last Tuesday.

The Niños led by only seven points at the end of the first quarter but came through with a series of spurts in the next period to set the tone for runaway win at the start of their best-of-three series.

Cebu was eyeing the first finals berth in the tournament jointly organized by the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) and Liga Pilipinas at presstime last night.

A Laguna victory, however, will force a sudden death slated to be held in Manila.

The Niños took a 51-38 halftime lead but the Stallions, behind Robert Sanz and Ricky Ricafuente, battled back and closed to within, 55-65.

But that proved to be the closest Laguna could get as the Niños unleashed another run to scuttle the Stallions and post their biggest lead at 91-71.

Ariel Mepaña led Cebu with 16 points while Stephen Padilla and Richard Ian Saladaga added 14 and 13 points, respectively.