The Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology (SCSIT) Skyblazers turned to the endgame heroics of Jimwell Torion and Stephen Padilla as well as the game-long brilliance of Mark Abadia to capture the championship in the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Basketball Association (CBA) after they beat the Ave Maria Sanctuary and Park, 85-82, in the deciding Game 3 of the best-of-three finals late Sunday night over at the Cordova Sports Complex.
The game was delayed for almost two hours because of a power outage but when the lights came back on, the two squads proceeded to shoot the lights out in the high-scoring affair.
Ave Maria had the inside track on the title as they led for most of the way and even held a seven-point advantage with a little over seven minutes remaining in the match.
However, Ave Maria’s complacency and the Skyblazers’ own resolve in the dying seconds allowed the latter to hoist the crown and grab the whopping P200,000 cash prize.
Abadia punctuated his tournament-long streak by scoring 32 points in Game 3 and cashed that in for the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
The score was tied at 62-all heading to the fourth period but Ave Maria took a 73-66 lead behind an 11-4 run that was highlighted by three-point bombs from Alex Cainglet, Jerry Cavan and Armand Ponce.
The Skyblazers regained their composure and regained the lead at 76-75 after a three-point play by Abadia with a little over two minutes left in the match.
Ave Maria refused to be rattled and went ahead, 82-79, for the last time with 1:06 left, behind five straight free-throws by Cavan.
The Skyblazers then ratcheted their game up as Torion managed to sneak inside for a difficult layup to cut the deficit down to one. He followed that up with a steal off a bad pass by Ave Maria forward Mannie Gabas and passed it off to a streaking Padilla for the go-ahead basket.
Ave Maria still had a chance to win the game on their next possession but Cainglet rushed a three-point attempt that was blocked by SCSIT’s Rino Berame. After two free-throws by Padilla pushed the Skyblazers’ lead to three, 85-82, Cainglet was intent on redeeming himself but instead became the goat once again as his three-point attempt at the buzzer was blocked once again, securing the win for SCSIT.
Padilla tallied 20 for the Skyblazers while Torion and Berame contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Cainglet and Ponce led Ave Maria with 15 points apiece.