CEBU, Philippines - Las Vegas KTV-M16 Disco '94 unleashed a furious fourth-quarter assault to repulse Pilipinas Shell '80s, 74-67, in the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association's 12th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup last Tuesday night at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.
It was another disappointing setback for Class '80s, which disctated the pace of the match from the start only to run out of bullets when it mattered most.
With the red-hot tandem of Chester Cokaliong and Stephen Tan on the firing end, Shell '80s cruised to an early 21-14 lead, the biggest stood at 12 points, 30-18, on Cokaliong's fifth 3-point bomb with just a few minutes gone by in the second period.
The gritty Class '94 stalwarts pulled within two points, 32-34, but Shell '80s stayed on the driver's seat and wisely protected a seven-point edge, 59-52, early in the final canto.
But that proved to be the last stand of Class '80s as Bronson Peña instigated a sizzling 13-0 counter-attack that suddenly saw Class '94 ahead by six points, 59-65.
Class '80s threatened for the last time at 63-65 as Class '94 made a 7-2 run to virtually seal the deal, 72-65, on Anthony Chua's triple.
Peña topscored for Class '94 with 18 points on top of nine rebounds followed by forer CDC White Stallion Wellington Yu with 17 points, 16 rebounds, five steals and two blocks.
Chua and Stanley Gaw also brought heavy damage on Class '80s after churning out a combined 22 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and five steals for Class '94.
Chester Cokaliong topped Class '80s with 24 points and one assist. Stephen Tan had 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists, while Joel Chan charted the first triple-double output of the season with 11 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a losing effort for the Shell-backed squad.
In the other game, Rogelio Donayre fired 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals as The First Family Appliance Corp. '96 banked on a 29-12 halftime advantage to cruise past First ACY Shipping 2006, 44-38, in a low-scoring duel. (FREEMAN)
The scores
First game
Class '94 (74) - Peña 18, W. Yu 17, Chua 11, Gaw 11, Beldeniza 7, Cu 4, Jao 4, Lim 2
Class '80s (67) - Ches. Cokaliong 24, S. Tan 21, Chan 11, Z. Tan 5,. W. Yu 4, Chris. Cokaliong 2
Second game
Class '96 (44) - Donayre 11, Lariosa 9, Ong 6, Patiño 6, Chua 5, Ang 5, Tan 2
Class 2006 (38) - Yap 17, Dy 12, Nunez 5, Verde 2, Estrella 2