Photo from Davao Tigers FB page
Cebu City, Philippines — The Davao Occidental Tigers put an end to the season of the Cebu City Sharks-Casino Ethyl Alcohol with a 76-69 win in Game 2 of the best-of-three quarterfinals series in the South Division of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu Cup on Saturday, March 16, 2019, at the Lagao Gym in General Santos City.
Ironically, it was a Cebuano that did the most damage on the Sharks as former University of the Visayas stud Emman Calo led all scorers with 27 points, most of which he scored in the first half. MVP candidate Mark Yee also had a terrific game with 14 points, 19 rebounds, four assists, a steal and five blocked shots.
What Calo started, however, veteran cager Leo Najorda put an exclamation point to as he scored five straight in crunchtime to put the Tigers ahead for good and eventually, onto the South Division semis, where they will face either Bacoor or neighboring General Santos City.
With their backs against the wall, Cebu City came out with renewed focus and energy and led by as much as 12, 58-46, after a jumper by Joel Lee Yu, with 1:06 to go in the third.
The Sharks took a nine-point lead, 60-51, to the fourth but the veteran-laden Tigers chipped away at the deficit and even regained the lead at 67-66, after a free-throw by Najorda.
But Cebu City forward Edrian Lao shoved the Sharks back in front with a jumper from the keyhole for a 68-67 advantage, 2:07 to go. Najorda then answered with a three-pointer from the right wing and added another jumper to give Davao a 72-68 lead, time down to 1:12.
Calo then put the icing on the win with two makes from the charity stripe that raised their lead to six with just 30 ticks remaining.
William McAloney and Gayford Rodriguez had 13 points apiece for Cebu City, the former also hauling down 14 rebounds. Harold Cincoflores added 11 while Rhaffy Octobre and Lao put up 10 markers apiece. /bmjo