Late surge lift Cabalen, NMBA in UFO

Both Cabalen-RP Construction and NMBA-Aliviera Sports Bar soared in the late goings of their match ups in last Saturday’s 2004 UFO-San Miguel Cup, pulling the right strings in edging their opponents at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

In the curtain raiser, the NMBA squad staved off a halftime deficit behind a huge third quarter performance by Dalewin Cortez, and held on in the final 10 minutes for a hard-earned 88-81 victory over Laguna-GEC Pawnshop.

The match was dead even after the first period, 18-18, with both teams matching each others offensive bullets. Veteran Ed Palma continued to turn back time, getting off on the right foot with 8 points to lead Laguna, while a couple of bombs from downtown by Elmer Esdirelon spearheaded NMBA’s guns.

Laguna, however, managed to outgun their opponents in the second, and mustered just enough of a charge to go up at the end of the half, 38-34.

Action finally resumed and that’s when Cortez took over, going berserk for 12 points, pushing NMBA as they outscored their opponents, 30-20, for a 64-58 advantage with one period remaining.

Laguna put up a solid fight in the closing minutes in hopes of regaining momentum, but they weren’t able to silence the NMBA squad, which held on behind cat-quick point guard.

Adonis Macoto picked up where Cortez left off and broke loose for 11 points, lifting his squad to sweet victory.

Cortez led NMBA with a solid all-around performance, finishing with 19 points, 6 bards, 4 steals, 4 blocks, and 2 assists. Esdirelon added 19 points, while Macoto and Marco Garcia supported with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Joy Dayrit also posted a solid outing with 14 points and 9 boards.

Palma topscored for Laguna 19 points while Randy Arconado and Leo Barrios contributed with 15 and 13 points in a losing cause.

In the nightcap, the Cabalen cagers ran on all cylinders in the third quarter to punch in a double digit advantage, and staved off a late uprising by MDX-Radio Group to pull out a 108-98 victory.

The game went back-and-forth in the opening quarter as both teams came out firing at will. MDX relied on its run-and-gun offense, torturing their counterpart in the open court, but Cabalen found answers in their half-court set-up plan, and knotted the score at 25 apiece on a tip in by man-mountain Ronald Delos Reyes off a missed free throw just before time expired.

Momentum quickly shifted to Cabalen’s corner at the start of the second stanza 16-3 run, highlighted by four triples by young gun Paul Magcalas, to take a comfortable 41-29 lead with 7:55 left in the period.

MDX came back strong and retaliated with a charge of their own behind quick transition attacks. The squad would pull to within 1 point, 45-46, on a couple of charity shots, and eventually pulled even at 54-54 with 1:33 left. Cabalen, however, managed to add several more points to their corner and closed the half with a 58-56 lead.

MDX then went ice cold from the field in the third, and Cabalen capitalized by outscoring MDX 26-14 for 14-point cushion. Despite a run by MDX in the final minutes, Cabalen left with the 10-point victory margin.

Delos Reyes paced Cabalen with 19 points while Magcalas and Darwin Barbo poured in 15 and 14 points. Randy Arnedo also pumped in 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals.

Butch Suplemente finished with a game-high 22 points and added 7 rebounds and 3 steals while J. Costales torched the net for 21 points to lead MDX. Martin Moreno again posted solid numbers with 16 points, a game-high 11 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals.

First Game

NMBA 88—Esdirelon 19, Cortez 19, Macoto 16, Garcia 15, Dayrit 14, Palma 2.

Laguna 81—Palma 19, Arconado 15, Barrios 13, Sumaoang 11, Viola 8, Aldan 7, Sabino 6, Poquiz 2.

Scoring by quarters: 18-18, 34-38, 64-58, 88-81

Second Game

Cabalen 108—Delos Reyes 19, Magcalas 15, Barbo 14, Arnedo 13, Mendoza 12, Gatdula 11, Alipio 8, Ocampo 7, Sinca 4, Canlas 3, Salazar 2.

MDX 98—Suplemente 22, costales 21, Reboyun 17, Martin 16, Galulu 12, Vargas 5, Malasarte 5.

Scoring by quarters: 25-25, 58-56, 84-70, 108-98.