Friday, November 23, 2007 Landmasters force final match
THE Cebu Landmasters-Mandaue City forged a rubber match after bouncing back from a frustrating loss and sneaked past Arthro Kontra Arthritis, 83-80, win in Game 2 of the 2007 MVBA Visayas Division playoffs at the Cebu Coliseum last Wednesday evening.
The win shifted the series’ momentum back to Mandaue City’s side as it extended the series to a do-or-die third game, where the winner will get the last slot to the division finals against the well-rested M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Jewelers.
Mike Mañigo nailed the game winning jumper to break an 80-all deadlock with 16.4 seconds remaining in the game.
After a tightly-fought first quarter, the Landmasters gained control of the game with unforgiving defense in the second period and were able to build a 12-point lead, 53-41, at the 8:57 mark of the third canto.
This lead, however, vanished when Arthro’s Doroteo Almacin hit back-to-back triples to pace Arthro’s 16-4 run to tie the game at 57-all at the 5:10 mark of the third but they failed to capitalize on this as the Landmasters still led at the end of the third, 68-62.
Ian Saladaga topped Cebu Landmasters’ scorers with 21 points, while Manigo added 19 as Yee finished with 18. Almacin scored 23 points for Arthro.
