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Saturday, August 23, 2003
ML Jewelers ‘teach ‘em’ how
By ROMMEL C. MANLOSA
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
M. LHUILLIER-Cebu shook off a sluggish start with a choking defense in the second half and rallied behind the firepower of Boboy Rodriguez to score a 91-80 title clinching victory over Forward Taguig, sweeping the NBL National Championship Finals, 2-0, at the Cebu Coliseum last night.
Taguig’s 2-3 zone defense held M. Lhuillier to an anemic 6-of-20 shooting in the opening quarter while sinking 9-of-20 attempts to erect a 10-point lead, 26-16, in the first 10-minutes of play.
“Finally, we taught the people of Manila how to play basketball. It was a very tough game and we got nervous especially when we were chasing them. But I’m glad we’ve pulled this through,” said team owner Michel Lhuillier, who danced with his wife Amparito after the final buzzer.
After Mico Roldan gave Taguig an 11-point lead, M. Lhuillier slowly came to life behind Rodriguez and Mike Manigo in a telling 22-10 binge that gave the Cebuanos the lead for the first time, 38-37.
“Our defense held them. We broke their offense because we already have scouted their game. Their 2-3 zone did not work this time and we defended the middle very well because we did not play any double team,” said M. Lhuillier head coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba.
M. Lhuillier’s defense resulted to 11 steals while forcing the oppositions to commit 20 turnovers. The Jewelers scored 21 on these errors while Taguig scored only 14 baskets out of Cebu’s 16 errors.
For taking M. Lhuillier-Cebu to the championship following a remarkable 15-2 win-loss record, Alcoseba was named “Coach of the Year” while Rodriguez was named Finals MVP for his all around performance.
“This championship is not for me, it’s not for Michel, not for the Lhuilliers but for the Cebuanos. It’s been a long time that Cebu has been denied of a national title. And in our own little way, the NBL’s little way, we bring glory to the Cebuanos. This (title) is for all of you,” added Alcoseba.
After allowing Taguig to reclaim the lead for one minute, M. Lhuillier raised another rousing rally to close the opening half ahead by 54-48.
M. Lhuillier allowed Taguig to tie the game at 58-all before closing the penultimate period 73-66.
Rodriguez’s triple at 6:45 in the final period gave the Jewelers a double-digit lead, 80-70, and never allowed Taguig to nearer than five points, 79-84, in the last 1:36 of the game. Rodriguez’ dunk on the last 60 seconds off a steal ended the hope of the visitors to bring the series to Taguig.
M. Lhuillier nailed 31 of its 75 attempts from the field while Taguig only made 27-of-64. Cebu shot a 6-of-20 three-point clip against Taguig’s miserable 1-of-10 and dominated the boards 39-34, scoring 21-14 on fastbreaks and 21-4 on second chance baskets.
Lending a hand to Rodriguez’ 22 points, were Rey Cantona’s, who finished with 10 points, Ruben de la Rosa and Aldrin Ocañada, who delivered their usual contributions of 13 and 16 points, respectively.
Robin Mendoza played one of his best games that a hamstring injury did not prevent him from scoring 27 baskets while Roldan added 17 for Taguig’s defeat.
On the other hand, Dave Bautista took the limelight among all individual achievers as he bagged the most coveted Most Valuable Player award, the first of its kind in the fledgling league.
The award was handed to the Pampanga Bulls’ heart and soul Thursday night by Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) Region 7 director George Bragat and NBL Technical Committee head George Magsino in Game 1 of the best-of-three Finals series at the Cebu Coliseum.
Bautista, who was sidelined for a sprained ankle last August 17, in Game 1 of their Best-of-3 semifinal series with Forward Taguig, accumulated a total of 394 statistical points, making him the runaway choice for the award over the tough field.
Joining Bautista in the MVP Mythical 5 selection were Forward Taguig’s Jimmy Robillos (361 SP) and the league leader in assists with 7.8 dishes per game Robin Mendoza (349), Compak Shineway-Ozamiz’ scoring machine Milfred Sampilo (300) and M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala’s hardcourt leader Arnold Rodriguez (313). Bautista is the lone player who logged double-double averages of 12.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per in 12 elimination round games.
Also awarded the other night, were the joint third placers Compak Shineway Ozamis Board Makers and the Pampanga Bulls, both semifinal losers to the championship protagonists M. Lhuillier-Cebu and Forward Taguig, respectively.RCM |
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