CEBU, Philippines - Pilipinas Shell '80s stoked a blistering offensive in the final half to outlast defending champion Young Builders '91, 78-64, in the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association's 12th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup last Thursday night at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.
In a spectacular show of hardcourt versatility, Stephen Tan exploded with 25 points on top of 11 rebounds, four blocks and three steals to propel Class '80s to a vengeful victory over Class '91, the team that beat the Shell-backed squad in the last CECABA season three years ago.
Despite being hustled by the pesky alternating defense of Chester Benedict Go, Kevin Co and Emerson Go all throughout the 40-minute action, top hitman Chester Cokaliong squeezed out of his way to drill in five triples of his 17-point finish. The league's founding and incumbent president also had one assist and one steal as Class '80s notched its fourth straight win in six starts.
Chester's vastly-improved younger brother Christopher Cokaliong likewise deserved an honorable mention after cashing in 15 points and 14 rebounds, in the same way with Joel Chan, who scored only seven but issued 14 assists, pulled down 10 rebounds and picked up two steals for Shell '80s, which detonated a devastating third-quarter bomb to blow away Class '91.
Class '80s, which also drew 11 points and five rebounds from Wilson Yu, trailed by a hairline at halftime, 36-37, but charged back with a searing 20-9 run to take a 56-46 advantage heading into the last 10-minute zone of the contest.
S. Tan then hit 10 points in the windup to help Class '80s neutralize Young Builders' offense until the final buzzer.
Tommy Yu had 21 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks for Class '91. Peter de la Torres added 16 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists, while Chester added 12 markers but they fell short in the end as Class '95 slumped to its fifth loss against only one win.
In the main game, Ernest Tanting pumped in 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists as Dewfoam '88 routed First ACY Shipping '2006, 53-35, to even its win-loss record to 3-3 while dealing the younger graduates its fifth consecutive defeat in as many starts.
The scores
First game
Class '80s (78) - S. Tan 25, Ches. Cokaliong 17, Chris. Cokaliong 15, W. Yu 11, Chan 7, Mendez 3
Class '91 (64) - Yu 21, De la Torre 16, C. Go 12, Co 4, Borromeo 3, Ang 3, Ty 2, Lim 2, Crisologo 1
Second game
Class '88 (53) - Tanting 14, Yu 8, Aguilar 6, Lim 6, R. Lim 5, Po 3, Dy 3, Ong 2. D. Yu 2, Co 2, Villamor 2
Class 2006 (33) - Tan 13, Yap 8, Dy 5, Miranda Sy 4, Tan 2, Sungapo 2, Rosello 1 (FREEMAN)