Unicorns win thriller on Cabriana’s endgame heroics

CEBU, Philippines —Showing nerves of steel, Alfie Cabriana banked a crisp 3-pointer with four seconds left to play to lift the Medspecialized Unicorns to 72-71 cliffhanger over the Author Solutions Philippines Inc. (ASPI) Hardbacks in the EVO League of the Tanduay Athletics CSCC E-Leagues for Basketball Season 15 over the weekend at the City Sports Club-Cebu Gym.

Trailing 69-71 with only 10 seconds left to play, the Unicorns diagrammed one beautiful play in their final possession that saw Randolph Santiago passing away a nifty assist to Cabriana, who then fired a 3-pointer over the outstretched arms of Donald De Leon.

The ball gently rolled through the rim, prompting the entire Unicorns bench to leap for joy.

Cabriana finished with 16 points.

It was Marvin Agruda, however, who paced Medspecialized with 22 points laced with 12 rebounds. Santiago chipped in 15 points, nine rebounds boards, seven steals and six assists for the Unicorn, who posted their third straight win and fifth overall in a dozen games.

Ellison Rivera banged in 22 points, while De Leon and Ken Molejon combined for 23 points but to no avail as the Hardbacks suffered their fourth straight loss and fell to 4-7.

On the other hand, Roberto Castro Jr., Cyril Gayo and Bryan Estay cashed in 10 points each as the Contact Solutions Flying Lemurs overcame the Shearwater Health Crusaders, 66-60, to tighten their grip of the solo lead with a 10-1 win-loss record. The Health Crusaders, led by Christian Hubag with 15 points, slipped to 3-10.

Tommy Ugsimar also made his presence felt after unloading 31 points as the Dynata Warriors subdued the Cognizant Tikas, 78-65, to stay at second place with a 9-2 slate.

Not to be outdone, Yvess Suan piled up 20 points, 11 rebounds and four assists while Aristotle Alcos tossed in 17 points, eight assist, five boards and two steals as the Executive Boutique/SVC Bulldogs extended their winning streak to seven after drubbing the Results Newtown Spartans, 82-72. The Bulldogs now hold a 9-3 card, while the Spartans fell to 5-6.   

The other results saw the Kyocera Frontiers (8-2) edging the Optum Knights (9-3), 60-56, and the Dyninno Jets (6-5) crushing Iploy (2-7), 76-54.EBV