THE BAYFRONT Hotel Cebu remained undaunted in their march through Division A of the PLDT SME Nation – Alfredo Gothong 21ST SHAABAA Cup Basketball Tournament after they thwarted last year’s runners-up, Harley Davidson, 72-62, in overtime on Wednesday night at the Magis Eagles Arena inside the Ateneo de Cebu campus in Canduman, Mandaue City.
The Cabahug brothers, Elddie and Elmer Mykiel, were once again an unstoppable force as they combined for more than half of the team’s total output to help the Chase Cokaliong-backed squad move up to a perfect 3-0 (win-loss). Elddie had 28 points while Elmer Mykiel had 20.
Still, the win did not come on a silver platter for the wards of head coach Elmer “Boy” Cabahug as they found themselves tied with Harley Davidson, 55-all, at the end of regulation. But Bayfront got their act together when it mattered most, outscoring their opponents, 16-7, in the extra session to pull off the win.
Fletcher Galvez led Harley Davidson, which remained without a win in three tries, with 24 points while Jair Igna added 20.
In other Division A games, Gaisano Capital gained a share of second place as they dealt the defending champions Petron Bling Nation a 61-72 overtime loss. Petron had the upper hand, 38-31, heading to the last period but suddenly lost focus and allowed Gaisano to pull even, 57-all, and force overtime. The extra five minutes was an exercise of dominance for Gaisano as they outgunned the defending champs, 14-5, to hack out the win.
Former University of San Carlos Warrior Mavii Suarez paced the winners with 21 points while Patrick Go added 13. Gaisano is now tied with the Cebu Landmasters at 2-1 while Petron fell to 1-2.
In Division B, GEF Incorporated Batch 1998 tied the idle AutoLAB at the top with a 47-43 win over the Ngohiong Batch 1994. Ian Osmeña scored 14 while Mark Guinocor had 11 for Batch 1998 which won their second straight match. In other results, Batch 1995 clobbered Chick@Phil Batch 89, 42-36, to even their record up at 1-1.
Finally in Division C, Gateway Batch 07 roared to their third straight win with a 55-38 rout of the Prince Warehouse 06. Brennon Kent Gothong sparkled in that match with 14 points. Radar Tires Batch 04 also edged South Tiger Trucks and Heavy Equipment Batch 05, 48-46, for their second win against a lone loss.