Friday, June 29, 2007 Drought ends By Rommel C. Manlosa Sun.Star Staff Reporter
AFTER nearly seven months without a title, the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Jewelers won its first crown of the year after beating the hard fighting Dazz ‘Sang Katutak’ , 80-75, in a thrilling conclusion of the 2007 Talk ’N Text SBP-BAP MVBA Invitational tournament at the Cebu Coliseum last night.
The Jewelers rode on the backs of skipper and tournament MVP Danny Aying, who kept his pace against the taller but younger Dazz frontman to help break its winless spiel since they annexed their second MVBA title last December.
In the first game, Burger King Whoopers annexed the third place trophy by whipping Hotel Fortuna-Firefly-Crusaders, 77-56.
However, the credits also go to coach Yayoy Alcoseba’s hardworking three-guard rotation of Jett Latonio, Woodrow Enriquez and Stephen Padilla, who did not budge against the challenge of their counterparts.
With Chico Lanete eating most of his playing time trying to keep up with the hungry Jewelers, Dazz found themselves in deep trouble in the third quarter as M. Lhuillier erected a 12-point bulge, 51-39, at the 4:48 mark.
Short-lived
Luckily, Reed Friar Juntilla recovered from a first half drought, scoring eight straight points to cut the lead to 47-53. Ardy Larong then scored five straight points and Larry Rodriguez closed the third with Dazz trailing 56-57.
Rodriguez completed a three-point play early in the fourth that gave Dazz the lead since a 15-14 advantage in the dying seconds of the first quarter.
However, that lead was short-lived as Padilla, Latonio, Enriquez and Aying assaulted Dazz’s defense with a 15-5 blitz for a 72-64 lead with 3:58 left
Lañete tried for a last surge, but his four free throws was quickly answered by Aying’s three foul shots for a 75-68 count at the 2:13.
Desperate and running out of time, Dazz tried the three-point zone, while hoping for a Jewelers drought at the free throw.
However, all they could sink was two triples courtesy of Juntilla and a split charity by Rodriguez, while the Jewelers sank five-of-eight free throws as Dazz conceded the game to the more experienced MLKP.
Commercial-tournament rookie Lyndon Gudez led the Jewelers by scoring 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter. Lañete topscored with a game-high 20 points for the losing Dazz.
