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Monday, July 11, 2005
Sun.Star deals GMA 7 first loss in NBAC
By Glenn C. Michelena
Sun.Star Correspondent
AFTER enduring an upset loss in its last outing, Sun.Star Cebu, still undermanned, bounced back yesterday with a resounding win over the hottest squad of the 2005 Newsmen Basketball Association of Cebu (NBAC) Gov. Gwen Garcia Cup.
In the other games, Cebu Daily News/RPN 9 beat The Freeman, 69-59, while Bombo Radyo/ABC 21 bagged its second victory by default over CCTN/Bantay Radyo in the opener.
Finals preview
In a titanic showdown between last conference’s finalists, Sun.Star rode on its defense to carve out a 68-60 victory over the streaking GMA 7, which in the third match of the NBAC’s Sunday tripleheader at the Guadalupe Sports Complex.
Aside from erasing the sting of its loss to CDN/RPN 9 last week, the win also gave Sun.Star a big boost in its head-to-head record with GMA 7, which should come handy as both teams are currently tied at the top spot with identical 4-1 marks.
The top two teams of the eliminations will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage against lower-seeded squads in the semis.
GMA 7, previously undefeated in four games with a 16-point winning margin , controlled the game early until Sun.Star waged a big second-half rally to seal the win.
Sun.Star came out sluggish and out of sync as GMA, with two-time MVP Jun Solon leading the charge, broke out of the gate with 13-2 run. But realizing that the game was going the way of GMA 7’s run-and-gun pace, Sun.Star slowed the game down, turned on its defense, and the result showed on the scoreboard, as GMA 7 ended the first period with a 19-11 lead.
Two-time MVP Efren Lonzon and the acrobatic Jade Violeta sparked the sputtering Sun.Star offense by scoring on a series of drives in the second quarter, but the offensive brilliance of both wingmen still wasn’t enough to overtake the margin of GMA 7, which had a 29-23 halftime lead.
Defense focus
By the third quarter, however, Sun.Star’s offense started to hum. With the GMA defense focusing on Lonzon, Sun.Star’s leading scorer (17.0 ppg going into the game) responded brilliantly by dishing out laser-precision assists to center Glenn Michelena, who scored seven of his team-high 16 points in the third period, and guard Erwin Lirazan, who knocked down a series of jumpers as Sun.Star slowly climbed out of its hole.
After a Lonzon drive knotted the count at 33-33, the game was delayed for over 15 minutes after GMA 7’s Jun Veliganio got called for his fifth foul, drewing a strong protest from GMA 7.
Lead retaken
Late in the third period, however, GMA 7 wrested back the lead – and the momentum – after Godfrey Rellin found his stroke and drilled in a slew of jumpers. Sun.Star reacted quickly by putting Patrick Costelo on Rellin on defense, while Lirazan continuously hounded Solon.
The scheme worked perfectly for Sun.Star, limiting GMA to only seven points in the last eight minutes. With the offensive explosion of sixth-man Arnie Aclao, Sun.Star took a 66-58 lead with only 45 seconds to go.
CDN (69) – Alberio 21, Cordova 16, Aznar 14, Tecson 10, Carvajal 4, Ochoa 2, Alcazaren 2. The Freeman (59) – Villaruel 45, Davis 6, Bustamante 4, Melencio 4.
Sun.Star (68) – Michelena 16, Violeta 13, Aclao 11, Lirazan 10, Lonzon 9, Costelo 8. GMA 7 (60) – Rellin 23, Solon 14, Pantino 6, Seno 5, Bajenting 4, Suarez 4, Rallos 2, Najait 2, Vileganio 1.
(July 11, 2005 issue)
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