THE UNIVERSITY of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R)-May Abuhan stunned PBA D-League squad Marinerong Pilipino, 84-83, as high-leaping Miguel Gastador scored on a well-executed alley-oop play with 0.4 of a second left in the Cebu City Sinulog Cup Basketball Invitational yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.
Down by a point after Marinerong Pilipino’s Kyle Toth sank a leaner with 1.7 seconds remaining, USJ-R sued for time. And off the inbound play, former Adamson Falcon Mark Abadia found Gastador, the reigning Cesafi slam dunk champion, in flight and on target for the score and an 84-83 lead.
The Skippers’ final offensive went nowhere as their own alley-oop play got thwarted by Abadia.
The win gave USJ-R-May Abuhan a victorious debut in this tournament while the Skippers dropped to 1-1 (win-loss).
Former two-time Cesafi MVP Enrico Llanto flashed his fine form and ran circles around his younger defenders, scoring 22 points while the reigning Cesafi MVP, Jaybie Mantilla, also showcased his talents to the tune of 20 points, including eight straight late in the second that helped USJ-R rally from a 16-point deficit. Gastador finished with 11.
In the first game, the Cebu Landmasters-Bogo City turned their game back on when it mattered most as they pulled away late to win over the University of the Visayas-SG-ARQ Builders, 86-72.
Similar to their last game, the Landmasters entered the fourth up by double digits but cooled off just enough to let the Green Lancers catch up.
Three straight three-pointers by Tristan Albina, Toto Segumpan and Rey Suerte pulled UV to within four, 67-71, 3:48 to go.
Sensing trouble, the Landmasters’ veterans connived with their younger teammates in a 15-5 finishing kick to secure the win.
William McAloney and Ferdinand Lusdoc led the Landmasters, which improved to a league-leading 2-0 mark, with 16 points apiece.