M. Lhuillier tames Arthro

The M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Jewelers caved in after a nearly flawless first-quarter showing, but were lucky enough that Arthro Kontra Arthritis ran out of ammunition towards the end of the match to escape with an 80-69 victory last night in the 2007 MVBA Second Conference at the Cebu Coliseum.

Dreaded long-range bomber Stephen Padilla was smoking right after the opening tip-off, breaking off a 7-all deadlock with back-to-back triples. He hit four more 3-pointers on an excellent 6-of-6 sniping, the last gave the Jewelers their biggest lead of 18 points,  36-18, with still 7:39 to go in the second period.

The Jewelers, however, were held on to a measly five points after that, while Arthro netted  14 markers to trim the deficit down to a single-digit at halftime, 32-41.

M. Lhuillier of businessman-sportsman Michel J. Lhuillier and head coach Raul “Yayoy” D. Alcoseba restored a 16-point edge, 48-32. The last time the Jewelers led in double figures was at 55-45 as Arthro guards Alex Cainglet and Ronaldo Bucao presided over a blistering 12-2 run to knot the count, 57-all, entering the final period.

Arthro, which never led the entire game, knotted the count at 60-all for the third and last time off three straight free throws by Bucao as birthday boy Bruce Dacia sank a trey and then Padilla split his charities to put the Jewelers on top for good, 64-62, with still seven minutes remaining.

Arthro of sports patron Jonathan “Atan” L. Guardo and coach Al Solis threatened for the last time, 62-64, as M. Lhuillier closed the match with a 16-4 bang capped by Marlon Basco’s thunder slam that iced the Jewelers’ win, 80-66, with only 21 ticks left before the final buzzer. Cainglet then hit a triple off the glass to peg the final tally.

Padilla, who rifled a total of seven triples, topscored for M. Lhuillier with 24 points followed by Dacia with 17. Basco had 12 points, while Alano Caputolan chipped in 10 markers.

Cainglet had 19 points, Bucao 16, and Doroteo Almacin 11 for Arthro, which will surely seeks payback when it meets M. Lhuillier anew at the start of the second round of elimination this Monday starting at 6 pm at the Cebu Coliseum.

The scores

M. Lhuillier (80) - Padilla 24, Dacia 17, Basco 12, Caputolan 10, Enriquez 9, Gatumbato 5, Capati 3

Arthro (69) - Cainglet 19, Bucao 16, Almacin 11, France 7, Omandam 7, Ursal 4,  Mercado 2, Garcia 2, Justiniani 1

Quarterscores: 33-17; 41-32; 57-57; 80-69