Photo from Cebu City Sharks FB page
Cebu City, Philippines — The Cebu City Sharks-Casino Ethyl Alcohol could not sustain on their fine start and got whooped by the South Division’s top seed, Davao Occidental Tigers, 67-82, in Game 1 of the best-of-three quarterfinals series in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu Cup on Thursday, March 14, 2019, at the Rizal Memorial College Gymnasium in Davao City.
Playing with confidence in spite the absence of top scorer Patrick Jan Cabahug, who is out with an ankle injury, the Sharks raced off to an 18-12 lead after the first 10 minutes of action.
The Sharks even extended their lead to 10, 24-14, but the Tigers started humming and uncorked a 15-5 salvo led by veteran gunners Bonbon Custodio, Mark Yee and Billy Robles to take a 34-29 halftime lead.
The second half was all Davao as they took a 61-51 lead at the end of the third and extended it to a high of 17 and cruised to the easy win.
The Sharks will try to stay alive in Game 2 on Saturday, March 16, 2019, over in General Santos City.
Rhaffy Octobre led Cebu City with 16 points and seven rebounds while William McAloney had 12 markers. The Sharks struggled to find the basket all game long, shooting just 33 percent from the field, which included a horrendous 2-of-25 clip from beyond the arc.
Four starters for Davao scored in double-figures led by Yee, who scored 20 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and swatted away four shots. Custodio added 18 points and five assists, while Robles and Leo Najorda added 11 markers each. /bmjo