Game today (Cebu Coliseum)
5:30 p.m. – ACT vs. SWU (Game 2)
Southwestern University guard Jeff Viernes lit up the Asian College of Technology and the rest of the Cebu Coliseum yesterday as he treated his defenders and the crowd to a spectacular offensive display en route to leading the Cobras to a, 90-76 win in Game 1 of the best-of-three finals series of the Cebu Basketball Association-M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Mayor’s Cup Basketball Tournament.
Viernes, a guard by way of the University of Manila and Café France in the PBA D-League, scored 12 of his 20 points in the final stanza as the Cobras broke the game wide open. More than the amount of points he poured in was the way he did it as he torched the basket in various ways that left his chief defender, ACT’s Ronald Bucao, dumbfounded.
SWU led, 67-57, heading to the fourth period but had their lead trimmed down to single digits after a trey from Stephen Padilla. Sensing an uprising, Viernes quickly went to work by scoring five straight that lifted SWU to a, 74-60 cushion. Later, he added a difficult lay-up, a bank-shot and a step-back three-pointer after a series of crossovers that clearly frustrated Bucao. His last shot put the Cobras on top, 87-70 with exactly three minutes remaining.
The match was close in the first half as the Cyber Knights came back from an early, 15-23 deficit, thanks to three three-point bombs from Mark Magsumbol, the last one giving ACT the lead at 37-35. But SWU responded with aplomb as they let go of a, 10-2 rally, with inside baskets from Abby Cruz and treys from Viernes and Jessmar Villahermosa for a, 45-39 halftime lead.
The Cobras of head coach Yayoy Alcoseba then took several 10-point leads in the third canto courtesy of the stellar efforts put forth by Giovanni Padillo, Justin Aboude and Lyle Antipuesto.
Santos paced the winning team with 22 points while Villahermosa and Antipuesto each tallied 14. Padillo wound up with 11 markers. ACT was led by Magsumbol’s 21 and the 15 of Padilla.
Meanwhile, the third place trophy was won by the Ave Maria Sanctuary and Park which beat Rollway Customs Brokerage, 85-77.