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Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Ozamis clips MLKP
By Rommel C. Manlosa
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE finals of the 2003 Panasonic-NBL 2nd Regional Cup wrapped up in deja vu fashion.
Compak-Shineway-Ozamis, which never won a game against the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala in the elimination round, again frustrated the Cebu-based club right before its hometown crowd as it clinched the title with a clutch trey from Egay Echavez, 76-75, at the Cebu Coliseum yesterday.
Earlier, Ozamis decided not to join the tournament for financial reasons but changed it’s mind a week before the opening of the 2nd Regional Cup.
Edgar Echavez, whose contribution was minimized by the strong defense of the Jewelers, played the hero’s role as he sank a fall-away triple in the final 6.1 seconds of the game to give Ozamis its second title.
“I was really thinking to shoot the ball when I saw the guard was not pressuring me so I threw a prayer,” said Echavez. “I shot a rainbow so if it didn’t sink, we still could battle for the loose ball.”
The final stretch saw a couple of key reversals when Ozamis, which had possession after Bruce Dacia split his free throws to give M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala a 75-73 lead, committed a crucial turnover when Dennis Cabigkis was slapped with an offensive foul on Bong Marata with only 10.9 seconds left.
Not liking the call, Ozamis coach Francis Rodriguez was about to leave the court when he heard another whistle – this time the Jewelers committed an inbound error.
Bong Marata’s inbound pass for James Laygo was tapped by Cabigkis back to him while he was still out of bounds, leaving Ozamis with 10.1 seconds to make the last play.
“The only thing that could win us the ballgame was to shoot three points that’s why my last option was to field all of my four shooters: Echavez, Cabigkis, Milfred Sampilo and Christopher Guerrero. I only left Larry Rodriguez there to give us ceiling,” said Rodriguez in the post-game interview.
“I instructed to give screens on Cabigkis and Sampilo so they can shake off the defense. But I also instructed Echavez to take a three if he couldn’t pass it to either shooters.”
M. Lhuillier had the last possession after Echavez’ triple but Woodraw Enriquez made a booboo by lobbing a prayer from midcourt, which was way off target, giving the ball back to Ozamis with 1.3 seconds remaining.
It was however a tough task for the Ozamis Boys to take the win as they had to battle the huge games of Bruce Dacia, James Laygo, Enriquez and Darryl Smith.
M. Lhuillier led 21-10 in the opening quarter before Cabigkis took the helm for Ozamis to come within 20-23 with 8:03 in the second quarter.
The Jewelers brought the lead back to 38-28 before rookie center Larry Rodriguez dominated the shaded lane and took Compak-Shineway closer at 35-40 at the bend.
Ozamis found its spark midway in the third period as they dropped a searing 16-4 blitz before the penultimate period closed at 59-55 in its favor.
The fourth quarter was a seesaw battle where the Jewelers regained the lead, 67-65, on Dacia’s charity shots in the 4:41 mark.
M. Lhuillier was able to keep that slim lead for more than four minutes before Echavez hit a triple that changed the endgame.
For his all-out effort in leading Compak-Shineway Ozamis to win the title, Guerrero was named tournament MVP. He was joined by Dacia, Enriquez, Oliver Agapito of Ilocos Sur Snipers and Mario Reyes of Spring Cooking Oil-San Pablo City 7-Lakers in the Mythical Five selection.
Compak-Shineway-Ozamis (76) – Cabigkis 20, L. Rodriguez 19, de Jesus 14, Echavez 8, Ferraren 7, Booker 4, Guiyab 4. M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu (75) – Enriquez 19, Dacia 16, Laygo 11, Smith 11, A. Rodriguez 7, de la Rosa 4, Marata 3, Aying 2, Lumantas 2. Quarterscores: 14-23; 35-40; 59-55; 76-75.
(December 16, 2003 issue)
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