The “rejects” have managed to strike back.
Five former players of the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños stuck it to their old team as they led the Mandaue-Cebu Landmasters/RDAK to the Cebu leg title as they annihilated the reigning national champions, 66-49, in the championship game of the Liga Pilipinas V yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.
Nearly left for naught without jobs and roster slots as they were released from the Niños just before the start of the brand-new season of the Liga Pilipinas, Mark Magsumbol, Hafer Mondragon, Marlon and Mario Basco and Ariel Capus all played with more than usual fire and ferocity.
They combined for 30 points, 26 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and four blocks in a dominant display that emphatically installed Mandaue as the new team to watch out for in this season.
Showing that their 78-68 win over the Niños during the last day of the elimination round last Friday was no fluke, the Landmasters grabbed the upper hand as early in the first period and steadily built on it until the final buzzer.
Up by seven, 18-11, after the first canto, the Landmasters kept their foot on the gas and zoomed off to a 32-19 lead at halftime with Magsumbol, Basco and Mondragon scoring the last 11 points for Mandaue in that stretch.
With the help of Axel Doruelo, who pumped in a game-high 21 points, the Landmasters afforded no rest for the embattled Niños as they opened the third period with a blistering 13-2 rally, erecting a commanding 24-point lead for Mandaue, 45-21, that virtually put the game out of reach.
Magsumbol captured the leg MVP honors as he punctuated his tournament-long brilliance by logging in 13 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Meanwhile, the third place trophy was won by the Misamis Oriental Meteors as they crushed the Ilocos Sur CS Tigers, 72-56.