Red-hot Cebu whips Navotas for 3rd straight MPBL win

CEBU, Philippines — Fueled by the breakout performance of PBA hopeful William McAloney, the Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol rallied from an ice-cold to start on the way to rip the Navotas Uni-Pak Sardines, 83-71, in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Lakan Cup on Wednesday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

McAloney, who already expressed his desire to join in next month’s PBA Draft, dropped 32 points on a spectacular 13-of-15 shooting from the field. He pulled down 14 rebounds and passed two assists as Cebu notched its third straight win and ninth overall in 19 games.

Edrian Lao chipped in 12 markers, seven rebounds and two assists, while Rhaffy Octobre also tallied 12 points laced with six boards and two dimes as Cebu stayed at ninth place in the South Division standings.

Cebu actually trailed by nine points after the first 10 minutes of play, 14-23, but used a 22-15 counter-attack to crawl within just two points at halftime, 36-38.

Fully recharged after the short break, Cebu launched its second wave of attack, 20-13, to post 56-51 advantage going into the final 10-minute mark of the contest.

Cebu virtually put the win in their pocket with a 83-68 lead, their largest, on two free throws by Harold Cortes with only 20 seconds left to play.

Jhong Bondoc finished with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists while Elmer Mykiel Cabahug had 11 points and two rebounds for Navotas, which suffered its third straight loss and fell to 5-14 overall. EBV