Niños’ revenge

SPITFIRE Mark Ababon saved the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños from defeat as he sank a booming triple for a sweet 75-71 finals victory over the Meteors in the Misamis Oriental leg of the Tournament of the Philippines (TOP) before a jampacked Xavier University Gym last Thursday night.

In front of the stretched arms of Khiel Misa, Ababon sank the triple and fished a foul that gave him a chance to convert a rare four-point play with only eight seconds left.

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Despite missing the bonus shot, the three points were more than enough to secure the victory for the Niños, who were forced to concede a fight-marred game against the Meteors last Wednesday.

“You cannot deny the hearts of a champions. I told the players that if we wanted to play the championship, let’s forget how they treated us the last game and play with our hearts and mind. They may harm us but not our pride and the hearts of champions,” Cebu head coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba said.

It was a perfect ending for the struggling Niños, who lost to the Meteors despite leading, 66-44, in a fight-marred elimination round game.

MLKP’s Nat Cruz and Hafer Mondragon and MisOr’s Ronald Lamocha and Kris Lucernas were involved in the melee last Wednesday evening.

But the instigators Lamocha and Lucernas were the only players who were slapped with a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine.

Before the game started, MisOr team owner and Gov. Oscar Moreno apologized to the Cebu sqaud for what happened.