Ave Maria survives SWU to go 3-0 in CBA hoopla

CEBU, Philippines -  Ian Saladaga split his charities with only three seconds left to play but it was more than enough to lift the Ave Maria Sanctuary Park to a 99-98 cliffhanger over the upset-seeking Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras in the 2nd Cebu Basketball Association-M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Mayor’s Cup yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games today

2pm SCSIT vs. Ave Maria

4pm ACT vs. Rollway

6pm SWU vs. ThreeSixty

Ave Maria, thus, gained automatic entry into the crossover semifinals without defeat in three games, so far.

 It was a sorry loss for the Cobras as they led by as much as 13 points, 28-15, in the first period. They maintained a 45-33 advantage, but Ave Maria of coach Edito Salacut countered with a 12-4 rally to pull within just four points at halftime, 45-49.

With ex-PBA stalwart Jercules Tangkay at the cornerstone of their offense, Ave Maria sustained their momentum after the short break and launched a furious 12-3 rally to taste their first lead, 61-59, at the 5:32 mark of the third period.

The gallant Cobras of coach Raul "Yayoy" D. Alcoseba charged back with finesse to forge an 86-all deadlock on a triple by Jesmar Villahermosa with still 5:49 left to play.

The Cobras even regained the upperhand, the last was at 98-96 on a jumper by Jeff Viernes with 52 ticks remaining in the

gameclock.

However, Justin Aboude committed an ill-advised foul against Tangkay, sending the latter into the foul line. Tangkay then calmly sank his freebies to square the count at 98-all with 40 seconds to go.

Lady luck continued to smile at Ave Maria as the Cobras cannot execute one good offensive play in their final possession when Viernes lost handle of the ball leading to a costly error.

In the succeeding play, Tangkay could have sealed Ave Maria's win outright but he missed his 3-point attempt. Fortunately for Ave Maria, Saladaga got the offensive rebound and was quickly fouled.

After making his first attempt, Saladaga intentionally missed his second throw knowing that time was on their side.

Tangkay topscored for Ave Maria with 27 points, while Saladaga and Joven cid Cortes chipped in 27 points combined.

Rollway Customs Brokerage defeated ThreeSixty Pharmacy-Online Training Camp, 100-92, for its second win in three starts.

The scores

First game

Rollway (100) – Cruz 25, Sanoria 17, Aguilar 17, Lumungsod 9, Tabaloc 9, Alicaway 8, Escosio 4, Monaco 4, Mendoza 2

ThreeSixty (92) – Hermosa 26, Pogoy 12, Dajalos 11, Nailon 9, Mercader 8, Dinsay 7, Andaya 5, Molero 2, Abad 2

Second game

Ave Maria (99) – Tangkay 27, Saladaga 14, Cortes 13, Amores 4, Cantonao 3, Esperat 3, Aying 2, De la Pisa 2

SWU (98)- Villahermosa 33, Aboude 20, Mendoza 10, Viernes 9, Santos 9, Padillo 5, Armecin 4, Pacquiao 2 (FREEMAN)