THE Cebu Greats ended their 2025 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) campaign with a heartbreaking 92-89 loss to the Mindoro Tamaraws in their play-in knockout match at the Pola Gymnasium in Oriental Mindoro on Monday, Oct. 6.
With the loss, the Cebu Greats finally bid farewell to this year’s edition of the country’s second professional men’s basketball league.
Despite the early exit, the Cebu Greats held their heads high as they showed tremendous fighting spirit, battling hard until the final buzzer.
Cebu had several opportunities to turn the tide in their favor but faltered with crucial missed free throws down the stretch.
The game’s most controversial moment came in the dying seconds when the referees failed to call a foul on Mindoro’s Jeffrey Ramirez, who clearly made contact with Jun Manzo while the Cebuano shooting guard was making a buzzer-beating attempt from beyond the arc.
A slow-motion review showed Ramirez making contact with Manzo, prompting protests from Cebu Greats officials, including team manager Jhon Santos, who confronted the referees and table officials to no avail.
Earlier in the game, the Cebu Greats had successfully challenged two referee calls.
“We had two successful challenges, which means there was something wrong with the calls,” said Santos. “We can accept defeat, but not like this. We worked so hard to get to this point. The players sacrificed so much, only for our season to end like that? It’s heartbreaking.”
Cebu’s Limuel Tampus tied the game for the last time at 73-all, but a 5-0 spurt sparked by Ramirez’s pull-up jumper and a three-pointer gave the Tamaraws a 78-73 lead with 5:59 left in the game.
Manzo, teaming up with Paul Desiderio and Mark Meneses, led a 7-3 counterattack to cut the deficit to 81-80. But a red-hot Wendelino Comboy answered for Mindoro, drilling a three-pointer and back-to-back short jumpers to stretch the lead to 88-82 with 1:14 remaining.
Still, the Cebuanos refused to raise the white flag. They tightened their defense and managed to trim the gap to 90-89. But that proved to be their final push, as their grit, effort, and courage ended in frustration and disappointment.
“It was a great game. In fairness, Mindoro played really well, too. Whatever happened out there, the fans saw it. Let them be the judge,” said Santos. “We weren’t ready for our season to end like this. Honestly, it felt like an earthquake hit us. Everyone was crying in the dugout after the game.”
Santos added that Cebu Greats officials will meet soon to discuss the team’s future plans.
Comboy led Mindoro with 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Jonas Tibayan turned in a double-double performance with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Joseph Sedurifa added 10 points.
For Cebu, Desiderio topscored with 15 points before fouling out. Tampus added 14, while Manzo, Meneses (who also grabbed 16 rebounds), and JR Quiñahan contributed 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively. / JBM