BATCH 2007- Chef Chang kept alive its hope of earning an outright semifinal berth after it nailed a crucial 68-63 win over Batch 1997-Solane iStyle last Thursday in the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association (Cecaba) 14th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup at the CEC Gym.
Batch 2007 finished its elimination round campaign with nine wins and four losses, is currently tied with Batch 1990s/2001AJL Surplus which also ended the single round eliminations with a 9-4 (win-loss) slate.
The top two teams after eliminations will advance to the semifinals outright.
Leading the standings is defending champion Batch 1999-BMC Hospital Systems/Hainanese Delights, which is 12-0 followed by joint second placers Batch 1996-Blakeley’s Motorcare and Batch1980s/1990s/2011-Koi Herbal, which both have 8-3 records.
Juan Carlo Espada led the way for Batch 2007 with 19 points while Raymark Ong added 10.
Timothie Tan scored 17 points and Ryan Maderazo had 13 for Batch 1997, which dropped to 4-7.
In the other game, Batch 1998-Kaking dispatched Batch 1996-Blakeley’s Motorcare, 72-61, behind Rex Millan’s 24-point output. /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA