Cokaliong hits nine treys as Shell ‘80s routs 3R ‘98

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association (CECABA) is back after a three-year hiatus. So is Chester C. Cokaliong.

Flashing the same sharp shooting skills that made him a household name in the local cagedom, Cokaliong unloaded all his 29 points from the 3-point land as Pilipinas Shell '80s whacked 3R Audio '98, 96-64, at the start of CECABA's 12th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

On top of his vaunted hardcourt sniping, Cokaliong of Class ‘78 provides the much-needed leadership to a team composed of various star players ranging from Batch '67 to '87.

Even though they come from different group of graduates spanning for two decades, they have fired a warning shot to their rivals this early that they are capable of fighting as a strong, unified hardcourt force.

Power-playing center Wilson Yu heavily backed up Cokaliong with 18 points on top of 11 rebounds, while Chester's vastly improved younger brother Christopher Cokaliong chipped in 14 markers and hauled a dozen rebounds, half of them offensive boards.

Stephen Tan tallied 14 points and the ageless Zotico Tan added 10 for Shell '80s, which led all the way from start to finish. Spunky playmaker Joel Chan scored only one, but dished out 11 assists as he tended their backcourt with precision.

Class '98 was in fighting mood only in the first few minutes of the contest, keeping the game close at 13-16. That proved to be their best shot as Shell '80s launched a 14-5 run to take a 12-point advantage, 30-18, at the end of the first period.

The 3R Audio-backed squad again pulled within five points, 25-30, but that was its last hurrah as the Cokaliong  brothers conspired in a 9-0 blitz to restore a 39-25 edge by Shell '80s, which was never threatened from there onwards.

Interestingly, Shell '80s was on top by at least 20 points for the first time, 58-38, on Chester's fifth triple of the day at 7:21 of the third quarter, while Christopher's back-to-back baskets gave them their biggest lead of 33 points at 91-58 cushion with 2:09 left to play.

Rex Millan topscored for Class '98 with 20 points, while Elvis Evangelista and Erick Andrew So netted 12 and 10 markers, respectively, in a losing cause. (FREEMAN)