Cebu City Sharks score second straight win in MPBL

The Cebu City Sharks-Casino Ethyl Alcohol made it two wins in a row after they nipped the Valenzuela Idol Cheesedog, 78-75, in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu Cup on Tuesday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Sharks star wingman Patrick Jan Cabahug scored the basket that put Cebu City up for good with 22 seconds left after trailing by as much as nine in the early going.

Rhaffy Octobre then made four straight free-throws in the dying seconds to give the Sharks some much needed separation until the final buzzer.

The win was the team’s third in 11 games so far, and their second straight after winning over the Makati Skyscrapers here in Cebu a few weeks ago.

The game was tied at 72-all after Valenzuela’s Chris de Chavez canned a baseline jumper with 55 ticks to go.

On Cebu City’s offensive, the Sharks actually had three cracks at the basket but missed them all until Cabahug grabbed the offensive board and lofted the ball back up and in to put them in front, 74-72, with 22 seconds to go.

Octobre’s four free-throws shoved the Sharks in front, 78-73, but Valenzuela had a glimmer of hope after Ryan Arambulo was fouled, attempting a triple, by Sharks big man William McAloney, with three seconds on the clock.

He made the first two and intentionally missed the third, got the rebound and passed it off to former University of San Jose-Recoletos guard Kido Cabrera, who missed the potential game-tying three-pointer as time expired, giving the Sharks the win.

McAloney continued to boost his stock, this time scoring 21 points and pulling down 14 rebounds to go with three assists and a blocked shot. Cabahug and Octobre had 13 points each while Cesar Catli had 11 off the bench.

De Chavez led Valenzuela with 22 points while Rocky Acidre added 17 for an Idol team that now has the same record as the Sharks.