THE Cebu City Sharks-Casino Ethyl Alcohol picked up their third win in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Datu Cup after a close 78-75 win over Valenzuela Idol Cheesedogs last Tuesday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal.
The game was nip-and-tuck the whole time with Valenzuela keeping it close up until the final buzzer.
Valenzuela took the early lead, 21-16, after a quarter of action. But with a strong second quarter by Cebu City, the game was tied 40-40 at halftime.
With the game tied at 72-72 with less than a minute left, Patrick Cabahug gave the Sharks the lead with a layup. Rhaffy Octobre converted both of his freethrows to bring the lead up, 76-72, with 12 seconds remaining. Ryan Arambulo split his freethrows to trim it down to, 76-73. Octobre once again was calm and cool and hit both his charities yet again for a five-point lead, 78-73, with eight seconds left. Arambulo was fouled by William McAloney from beyond the arc. He, however, hit just two of three but Valenzuela grabbed the offensive rebound. Kido Cabrera attempted a game-tying three-pointer but missed his mark.
McAloney had a huge game with 21 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and a block for Cebu City. Cabahug added 13 points, three boards and four assists; while Octobre logged 13 markers, eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Big man Chris de Chavez led Valenzuela with 22 points, three rebounds and three assists. Backup guard Rocky Acidre had 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal; while former PBA player Paolo Hubalde tallied five markers, 12 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block.
The Sharks won back-to-back contests and improved to 3-8, while Valenzuela dropped to an identical 3-8 record. (ML)