MJDL draws first blood in Customs hoop finals

CEBU, Philippines - The MJDL Titans went to the hot hands of Baeng Medalle in the fourth period to hack out a 73-66 win over Cebu Inter Port Users (CIPU) in Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series of the Cebu Customs Invitational Tournament 2013.

Down 53-48 at the start of the fourth quarter, Medalle initiated a searing 11-2 run by his lonesome to kick off the fourth quarter and give MJDL the lead for good, 59-55. It was their first taste of the lead since the second quarter where they failed to solve the CIPU defense.

CIPU countered to draw close at 63-61 with 3:51 left in the game through Ramil Aniñon and Takloy Moral, but Daniel Enriquez scored inside and Adrian Laborte drilled a triple for a 68-61 lead with 2:46 left, dousing CIPU’s hopes for good.

It was a twist of fortunes as CIPU had the upperhand and controlled the tempo of the game between the second and fourth quarters. They addressed MJDL’s full-court pressure, while the Titans had difficulty executing their offense against CIPU’s tight zone defense.

Medalle’s explosion, which was capped by a triple after four straight field goals at the start of the fourth period, served as the wake-up call and recharge that MJDL needed to regain momentum.

At this point, Coach Calib Gawangon directed his wards to execute their halfcourt offense against the zone. The Titans defense also caused CIPU to commit two crucial 24-second shot clock violations with under three minutes left. Medalle had 24 points to lead the Titans. Nico Laborte added 13. Francis Moral led CIPU with 23 points while Moral chipped in 21.

 MJDL goes for a 2-0 sweep in this tournament organized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for its trade partners.  BOC and Philhealth square off in their sudden death game for third place.

The scores

First game

MJDL (73) – B. Medalle 24, N. Laborte 13, Enriquez 9, Abellana 6, Bensi 5, Rollon 4, A. Laborte 3, N. Medalle 3, Elloren 2, Areglo 2, Alaan 2

CIPU (66) – Palero 23, Moral 21, Aniñon 6, Allerete 6, Garcia 4, Villaronza 3, Largosa 2, Nuñez 2,  Sagario 1

Quarterscores: 17-21, 43-39, 53-48, 73-66  (FREEMAN)