THE Cebu Greats won a "lost" game against Batangas on Wednesday in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) at the Pasay Astrodome.
Paul Desiderio's desperation heave at the buzzer from way, way out turned into an unlikely game-winner following an inexplicable goaltending violation by Batangas' Rhinwill Yambing, gifting the Cebu Greats a come-from-behind 84-83 victory over the Batangas City Tanduay Athletics.
Costly boo-boo
With barely 3.7 seconds left, Ced Ablaza made his first free throw to give Batangas an 83-82 lead, but missed the second, allowing Cebu's Simon Camacho to snare the rebound and throw the ball to Desiderio, who dribbled and let fly from beyond the half-court line just to beat time.
Yambing, a known high-flyer, unexpectedly soared and touched the ball for a clear violation that reversed the game's outcome.
Cebu thus improved its record to 2-1, tying Batangas.
Desiderio finished with 21 points and 3 rebounds. Jun Manzo added 18 points, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds, and Mark Meneses tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Batangas drew 18 points, 3 steals and 2 rebounds from Jhan Nermal, 15 points, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds from Ino Comboy, and 12 points plus 4 rebounds from Yambing.
Basilan Steel bested Pasay, 82-76, in the nightcap, while Quezon City leaned on MJ Joson and Kobe Monje to stun Meycauayan Marilao, 78-69, in the opener.
Veteran John Wilson knocked in a triple and canned two charities as Basilan swung the balance with an 8-2 run in the last 1 minute and 49 seconds of the extension period to improve to 2-1.
Wilson, the 2021 Season MVP, notched 20 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Miles Canal with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, and Bobby Balucanag with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
With the count tied at 70, the Pasay Voyagers had the opportunity to prevail outright. Steve Nash Enriquez, however, opted for an unnecessary triple, rather than drive in as the Steel were already in penalty, and missed.
Pasay tumbled to 1-2 despite Christian Fajarito's 20 points and 5 rebounds, Cyril Gonzales' 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals, and Brian Hilario's 13 points and 3 rebounds.
Joson, a prized find from Manila Central University, and Monje, a former track and field jumper turned basketball player in Letran, combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter, surpassing Meycauayan's total of 14 in the period and completing Quezon City's rally from a 24-37 deficit.
The tournament visits the Kamalig Sports Complex in Orion, Bataan, on Thursday, featuring games between Gensan and Marikina at 4 p.m., Manila against Bacolod at 6 p.m., and Bulacan against Bataan at 8 p.m.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
