CALL this a bleak day for Cebu basketball.
The Cebuanos normally take pride of their rich basketball legacy, but they took a hit on late Tuesday night when the Cebu Sharks were given a sound beating by the Manila Stars, 107-76, in the MPBL Datu Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.
At the first 10 minutes of play, you could tell the Stars had already practically put away their rivals, who were held scoreless.
The 27-0 ending in the first period was the all-time record for any local basketball game in modern day history. Staring at a frustrating 29-0 deficit, Cebu finally made it to the scoring column in the 9:05 mark of the second period, but the Casino Ethyl Alcohol-backed Sharks were not able to get their acts together and fell prey to the more superior game of the Robust Energy Capsule-supported Stars.
Manila likewise posted a few more records — the most points by a winning team in MPBL history at 107 and dished out a league-best 37 assists.
Five players finished in double figures for the Stars led by Aris Dionisio’s 19. Reil Cervantes also tallied the same output while Drian Celada chipped in 14. Kyles Lao and Vence Laude added 13 and 11, respectively, for the Stars.
While local folks of Pasay were stunned to see Cebu being held scoreless in the first period, they were also shocked in the second game by the visiting Bacoor Strikers, who pulled off a come from behind victory over the home squad Voyagers, 90-86, in the second game.
The Strikers came back from a 19-point deficit by the end of the first half, but patiently got their way back into the game with a variety of zone defenses, most notably its 1-3-1 zone that baffled the Voyagers.
“We switched to 1-3-1 and that got us back into the game,” said Bacoor head coach Budds Reyes. “I told the team that the only way we can get back into the game is by playing good defense. Once we did. Our offense followed.”
Gab Banal, back in action after missing his team’s game due to a previous engagement, finished with a double-double performance of 20 points and 11 rebounds. But Mikee Reyes also had his share of a double-double sharing. His 10 assists complemented by his 17 markers capped his great all-around game for the Strikers, who now improved their standing to 2-2. — Rey Joble
