THE Consolaction Sarok Weavers are kings of the first-ever Pilipinas Super League Under-21 Aspirants Division Invitational Cup after they defeated the Roxas Vanguards, 73-66, in Game Two of the finals on Thursday, April 21, at the Manuel Roxas Sports Complex.
Up by as much as 19, Consolacion suddenly found themselves under fire, their once-formidable lead whittled down to just four, 54-58, after a jumper by Randolph Lacquio, with 4:16 remaining.
However, the Sarok Weavers did not blink, with league MVP Gyle Montaño draining a three-pointer from the left wing before forward Matt Flores canned a bucket down low to raise their lead back to 10, 64-54, time down to 1:58.
Roxas, though, refused to give up and sliced the deficit in half, thanks to a corner triple from Richard De Guzman with 58 seconds to go. However, Consolacion held steady as Mythical Five member Rojan Montemayor and Montaño swished their free-throws to put the game out of reach.
Montemayor, who was named the Finals Most Valuable Player, had a monster double-double with 20 points and 21 rebounds.
Montaño, who had a subpar Game One, bounced back and had 16 points. Flores came off the bench and produced 11 points and nine rebounds.
“Grabe ang adversity na dinaanan namin sa Cebu. But four months ago, I told the team that we were already champions because of the way we prepared and all the sacrifices we made,” said head coach Kareem Alocillo.
Lacquio had 16 points to lead the Vanguards, but shot just 6-of-23 from the field. (JNP)