Thursday, September 04, 2008 Panthers shock top-seeded Gray
HEAVILY underdog Blue Panthers dealt the top-seeded Gray a heartbreaking loss on Tuesday night's crossover round of the Club 92 inter-color basketball tourney at the Macasandig gym in Cagayan de Oro City.
In a double-overtime play that saw the Buchok Biongcog-led Gray leading by eight points with still two minutes left in the regular period, the Panthers buckled down to work in the homestretch with Bundat Yana converting a game-tying lay-up for the first overtime.
The spirited fivesome of Ian Besario, Anton Pabillore, Cris Cabalan, Roldan Caami¤o and Ian Go, on the other hand, cemented a 88-86 win for the number 4 seed Blue and a berth in the final Big 4 round.
"We missed four crucial freethrows down the stretch. That's what gave them (Panthers) a breather," one Gray dribbler said.
Ranked second in Group A after the elimination round, Orange squad of team-playing manager George Baula also went into overtime to dispose of the hard-fighting White Sharks by just a single point.
It was a closely fought battle right from the start, though the tandem of Celbon and older brother Jiji De¤a made the difference in the extra period.
Playing the role he's been familiar with, Jiji dominated the rebounds and Celbon complemented by fueling Orange's offensive run.
White's foursome of Galileo Garcia, Boyboy Abrio, Marco Yana and Mico Ang had enough in their arsenal to counter Orange's efforts on both ends of the floor.
However, it took a three-point basket by Caingles off Jiji's inbound pass and a clamped down defense by Joey Neri and Von Jumarito against White's last ball possession to save Orange from the jaws of what smelled earlier as could be another upset loss.
"It was not luck that led us to victory. It was our no-nonsense defense," said Tisoy Dacer of the triumphant Orange.
Disputing tonight the remaining two semifinal slots are the Red Dragons against the Black Spyders and Yellow Zen opposite the Green Lancers.
