THE NATUMOLAN Eagles displayed tremendous grit down the stretch to pull off a thrilling 100-98 win over the fancied M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Jewelers in the championship game of the 3rd Mayor Paulino Yap Emano Cup last Sunday at the Tagoloan Dome in Misamis Oriental.
The Van Halen Parmis-coached Eagles completed a magnificent run in the eight-team field, never tasting a single defeat in the entire tournament en route to taking the P150,000 top purse.
“We swept our three games in the elimination and good thing we were able to sustain our momentum in the semifinal and championship rounds,” said Parmis, currently an assistant coach at the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers.
The Jewelers, handled by assistant coach Tata Merced in lieu of Yayoy Alcoseba, who is in Manila to guide the Southwestern Cobras (SWU) in the National Collegiate Championship, settled for P100,00.
The Eagles leaned on Jay-R Gerilla, who exploded for 25 points, while Ardy Larong added 15 markers.
Larong was later named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP)./EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA