Thursday, January 10, 2008 Aspac dumps Metro Gaisano in Partners Cup
ASPAC Bank-University of Cebu had to move heaven and earth before surviving a last minute surge to beat the beefed-up Metro Gaisano-Cebu Institute of Technology Wildcats, 85-83, Tuesday night at the Inayawan Gym.
It was a seesaw battle as teams took turns taking the lead the entire game and the teams were even at the end of the third period at 58-all.
However, CIT, led by Karenrick dela Cerna and Sherwin Resilla, jumped off to a 12-0 run to register the biggest lead in the game, 70-58.
Aspac-UC was headed for the dumps until shooting guard Allain Abellanosa and 6-foot-7 beanpole Junmar Fajardo took charge.
Abellanosa scored nine points to slice CIT’s lead down to 71-75. Fajardo, meanwhile, completed consecutive three-point plays to hand UC the lead, 79-78 with 1:15 left.
Jansen Abella’s and Kelvin Juliane’s back-to-back baskets put Aspac Bank further up front, 84-78, with just a few ticks left.
In an effort to stop Aspac’s mammoth center, CIT’s reinforcement Jerry Jaca fouled Fajardo during an attempt at a dunk.
Fajardo bungled the dunk but his heavy frame bent the ring, causing a momentary stand still as it needed to be pushed back up.
Juliane capped the final tally as he scored three of four charities in the waning seconds for UC’s fourth win in five outings. Abellanosa led Aspac Bank with 26, while Fajardo scored 22.
Meanwhile, league-leader Bibbo Hotdog-University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars proved once more why it is the top team in this competition as it clobbered Unilab/Alaxan-Don Bosco Greywolves, 110-85, to remain unblemished after five games.
After leading 23-5 in the first period, Bibbo Hotdog/USJR relaxed a bit and was faced by a determined Unilab squad, which fired a 17-0 bomb to take the lead, 24-23.
It was, however, short-lived as Bibbo-USJR woke up just as Luther Justiniani and Lyndon Gudez kept the team afloat as they led 41-36 at the turn. The third period became a Jabe Delfino show as he kept the team at a safe distance from their opponent.
Delfino led the scoring rampage with 27 as Gudez and Justiniani added 17 and 16, each.
