Saturday, August 18, 2007 Duterte cagefest underway; Cebu dribblers beat rivals By Marianne Saberon-Abalayan
THE Duterte Agilas-Phoenix Fuels ran out of gas to succumb to a 68-72 loss to ML Kuwarta Padala of Cebu.
Arthro Kontra Arthritis meanwhile hacked out a pulsating 69-67 victory to survive a 69-67 win over Montaña Pawnshop in the opener of the 2007 Mayor Rodrigo Duterte-Kadayawan Basketball Tournament Thursday night at the Almendras Gym.
Former Holy Cross of Davao College (HCDC) Crusader Eliazer "Buboy" Berami made a jumper in the dying seconds, which could have forced the trailing Agilas to tie the score with MLKP as the but came up short.
Jet Latonio was quick to bring down the ball for MLKP forcing Agilas' Eder Saldua to foul him. Latonio then wrapped up the match with two gift shots in the cagefest presented by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte through the Sports Development Division of the City Mayor's Office.
The Agilas' costly errors in the dying seconds hurt them. They were set to recover from their heartbreaking loss when they clash against Arthro in a must win game Friday night.
Arthro, coached by retired PBA player Al Solis, engaged Monta¤a in a tough battle early on, before Montaña went on a a searing rally at the start of the second quarter leaving Arthro behind, 36-23, with 3:34 minutes left.
Ronald Bucao's early three-pointer, however, kept Arthro alive in the second half as he, Leode Garcia, Mark Ababon, Luther Justiniani and Roy Mercades stepped up to snatch a two-point margin, 50-48, at the end of the third canto.
A costly turnover hurt Arthro in the final two minutes allowing Montaña to grab a 67-65 lead, but the sweet-shooting Bucao again sank a perimeter basket to pull Arthro, 68-67, 44.54 seconds remaining.
Arthro's Marvin Merado missed his two gift shots but he grabbed the rebound to keep the ball to their side. A Montaña player gave up a foul in the last 9:24 seconds of the game giving Ababon the chance to sank another charity basket to secure the win.
Ababon led Arthro with 33 points.
Acting Mayor Sara Zimmerman Duterte formally opened the tournament. Also on hand during the opening ceremonies were Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William "Butch" Ramirez and Commissioner Leon Montemayor, City Sports Coordinator Christopher "Bong" Go and BAP-SBP Regional Director Regino "Boy" Cua.
