Kendall Limana of SWU-Phinma orchestrates the offense against Top Flight Hoops Vancouver in the Supreme 16 Stage of the NBTC National Finals. | photo from Mall of Asia
Cebu City, Philippines — The very last Cebu team in Division 1 has fallen after the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Baby Cobras got edged by the Top Flight Hoops Vancouver, 83-81, in the Supreme 16 stage of the Chooks to Go/NBTC League 2019 National Finals, on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the NBTC Cebu champions, which pulled to within one, 81-82, after an short stab by JM Arana, with 23.5 seconds to go.
With the shot clock turned off, SWU-Phinma curiously took a long time to give up a foul, waiting until there were only 3.5 seconds remaining before doing so.
Read more: SWU-Phinma gears up for tougher battle ahead in NBTC National Finals
Vancouver’s Jerric Palma gave the Baby Cobras a sliver of hope as he made just one of two free throws. But with little time remaining, SWU-Phinma was forced to heave up a prayer of a shot that was not answered as time expired.
Kent Sanchez led SWU-Phinma with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists while Dezeo Villanueva put up 15 markers. King Cabansay, Kendall Limana and Matt Flores chipped in 11 points apiece.
Palma scored 22 points to lead Top Flight while Kit Mramor added 19 markers.
Meanwhile, the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) also got booted out from the tournament in Division 2 after suffering a 75-50 loss at the hands of Bulacan. /bmjo