Kia Motors stays alive in Partner's Cup hoop

CEBU, Philippines - Flashy sentinel Floyd Taboada exploded with 30 points as the Kia Motors/CIT-U Wildcats squeezed out a 74-72 victory over San Marino Corned Tuna-USPF Panthers to keep its final hopes alive in the 6th CESAFI Partner's Cup men's basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

After losing a 21-13 lead in the first quarter, Kia Motors rode on the impeccable outside shooting of Taboada, who knocked in three triples in the second canto to put his side back on top by eight at halftime, 41-33.

Behind the efforts of Joseph Sedurifa and Fritz Dalalos, San Marino staged a daring fightback in the final half to forge a 69-all deadlock with less than three minutes left in the game.

However, Jeffrey Taghoy and Gestino Baclaan made back-to-back crucial hits to hand Kia Motors a four-point headway, 73-69. With a little over a minute remaining.

 Taghoy later split his charities, 74-69, to virtually assure San Marino's victory with only 14 ticks left before the final buzzer. Cons Escanilla the drilled in a garbage 3-pointer to settle the final outcome.

Axel Rabaya chipped in 13 markers for Kia Motors, while   Dajalos and Sedurifa each finished with 15 points for San Marino, which is already out of contention with two defeats in the four-team, single round robin semis.

The scores

    Kia Motors/CIT-U (74) — Taboada 30, Rabaya 13, Taghoy 8, Baclaan 7, Batiquin 7, Menguito 5, Dimco 2, Brigoli 2

    San Marino-USPF (72) — Dajalos 15, Sedurifa 15, J. Ferraren 8, Escanilla 8, Camello 7, Sollano 7, Meca 4, Corcilles 4, Misa 2, Alviva 2  (FREEMAN)