Patrick Cabahug stepped up in the absence of ace forwards William McAloney and Rhaffy Octobre. Contributed photo | Cebu Sharks
Cebu City, Philippines—With ace big man William McAloney in sick bay and the Cebu Sharks-Casino Ethyl Alcohol in dire need of a victory to snap them out of a two-game slump, veteran marksman Patrick Jan Cabahug realized that he had to have a big game in order to give the hometown team a chance against the Muntinlupa Cagers.
And a big game is exactly what Cabahug had as he scored 26 points along with seven rebounds and two assists to tow the Sharks to a 79-62 win in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Lakan Season last Saturday, August 10, 2019, at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City.
Read: Cebu Sharks maul visiting Muntinlupa Cagers in MPBL tourney
In a talk with CDN Digital after the match, Cabahug was well aware of what he had to go heading to the game with McAloney sitting the game out because of a fever.
What he did not know was that he would also lose standout forward Rhaffy Octobre late in the third period due to an ejection.
“I really needed to step up in the game. And during the game, I noticed that they weren’t sending double-teams my way so I just grabbed the opportunity,” said the perimeter sniper who has earned a reputation in and around the Southeast Asian region for his hardcourt exploits.
The Sharks had work to do at halftime as they trailed, 34-41. Cabahug narrated that he just egged on his teammates to communicate a little more on defense.
“After the first half, we just talked about our defense since we really didn’t communicate much. After that, we strung up a few stops which led to easy offense,” said Cabahug.
More than the points, Cabahug displayed veteran leadership in encouraging his teammates to toughen up, after the Sharks lost Octobre with 2:18 left in the third, and Cebu clinging to a 13-point lead, 59-46. During that scuffle, Cabahug and teammate, Edrian Lao, were also slapped with unsportsmanlike fouls.
“I just told my teammates to not get carried away with what our opponents were doing. We just needed to stay composed,” added Cabahug.
The Sharks responded well after that commotion as they raised the lead to a high of 21 and cruised to their fourth win in nine games. /bmjo