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Friday, July 07, 2006
Sayson: CC-3: Cebu’s 3-point king
By Homer Sayson
Secondovertime
CHICAGO – Ooops, he did it again.
Last June 18, in the thick of the 2006 NBA Finals, the history pages of Cebu basketball were brutalized once again, ripped into shards of irrelevant pieces by a notorious repeat offender with a mean 3-point streak.
The scene of the crime was the City Sports Club-Cebu, where the perpetrator went amok and riddled the gym for 45 points, a bold feat that set a new scoring record in the Executives Cup hoops.
That same night, the man with the most dangerous pair of shooting arms in Cebu also sank a ridiculous 15 triples, easily breaking his own record of nine treys set late last year against the Liloan Sports Organization (Liso).
So who is this 5-foot-9 190-pound wonder? Who is this lefty who can shoot with his right hand with the same lethal grace? And who is this enigma, a man so dangerous on the basketball court, but so harmless and wholesome as apple pie off the playing field?
He is known as CC. He is Calvin-Klein handsome, affable and pleasant as a ray of sunshine. But once he peels off his business suit, he becomes deadly. He turns into into CC-3, as in Chester Cokaliong, 3-point king.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave since the turn of the millennium, you probably know Chester, a shipping tycoon married to the fantastically-beautiful Anna Lynne, with whom he is blessed with four kids – Chase, Chesna, Chanel and Chaz.
CC-3 is a fixture in Cebu’s sports pages, and he made a screaming headline on April 28, 2002, when he drilled 103 points and swished 33 3-point shots. Yes, don’t blink, that’s 33 treys, a milestone deserving of a page in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Chester also holds these prominent records – the most triples (11) in a single game at the Inter-Shipping Basketball Association (Isba) league and the most triples in a single game (15) at the Inter-AlumniBasketball Association (Iaba) tournament.
But last June 18’s game stands as perhaps Chester’s most brilliant.
In that contest, where he led the Cecaba All-Stars to a 103-59 rout over the City Sports Club-Cebu, CK-3 made five consecutive triples in a span of two minutes and 23 seconds. The crazy rampage began at the 3:36 mark of the third canto and it mercifully ended with 1:13 left before the fourth quarter.
But life isn’t always a fairy tale for Chester. Last May 21, he failed in his bid to win his 10th 3-point shootout title. The letdown fuels his unstoppable urge to conquer, it’s what keeps him shooting, and more than ever, his steely gaze is burning with desire.
“I might retire after I win my 10th 3-point title,” Chester told me last night via long-distance telephone interview.
Chester’s retirement is music to the ears of those he has terrorized for years at various leagues. But that’s bad news to hoops-loving Cebuanos. And that’s why I hope he keeps playing, winning as many 3-point titles as his arms would let him.
Chester is a rare talent, a blue marlin in a sea of tilapias. A treasure like this should be shared, put on display for others to ogle and appreciate. It doesn’t belong in retirement.
If and when Chester Cokaliong decides to uncock rifle for good, it would really be a sad, sad day. Cebu hoops will never be the same again.
(homsay@hotmail.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 7, 2006 issue)
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