Cyber Knights trounce Rollway in CBA semis battle, SWU escapes Ave Maria to advance

The Asian College of Technology (ACT) Cyber Knights continued their remarkable turnaround as they barged into the finals after defeating the Rollway Customs Brokerage, 77-69, in the semifinals of the Cebu Basketball Association-M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Mayor’s Cup Basketball Tournament yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

Meeting the Cyber Knights will be the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras,  who defeated Ave Maria Sanctuary and Park, 97-92, in the other semis pairing.

The Knights appeared to be teetering on frustration early in the tournament after losing their first two matches.

However, behind the stellar play of their veterans, they have righted the ship and have now won four straight games to barge into the best-of-three championship series and contend for the P100,000 cash prize.

Five players scored in double figures for ACT led by the 19 of Edrian Lao, the 17 of Jan Villaver and the 15 of Stephen Padilla.

The game was played on even terms in the first three periods with ACT leading, 22-17, after the first period.

However, the undermanned Rollway, which was missing their starting guard Ryan Alicaway, stormed back and even took the lead, 46-43, after four straight points from Eric Zanoria, with 3:50 left in the third. The two squads headed to the final stanza tied at 52-all.

With a finals berth at stake, the Knights zoomed right ahead in the fourth as they started it with a 12-0 run and never looked back en route to the win.