Meteors rip Niños in fight-marred TOP game

All hell broke loose in the finals preview between Misamis Oriental Meteors and ML Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños in the 8th leg of the Tournament of the Philippines at the Xavier University Gym in Cagayan de Oro City. A free-for-all happened in the closing seconds of the match between these two squads. A feud that triggered from way back spilled over inside the court with 28 seconds left and the Meteors headed for an easy win, 66-44. Meteors forward Ronald Lamocha and Niños center Nat Cruz went at it, creating a fracas near MisOr bench. Lamocha swung on Cruz when the two were going down at the Meteors court. It was a retaliation against Cruz, who twice hit his counterpart on the head during a rebound play. The 6-foot-5 Cebu center was even assessed with an unsportsmanlike foul for grappling the neck of the Meteors player with 3:04 remaining. When things went ugly after Lamocha swung on Cruz, the Cebuano slotman chased his rival at the Meteors bench and the two went in a fist fight while Hafer Mondragon and Kris Lucernas come to the aid of their teammates and took on each other. Even a player on street clothes – Wellan Muños of the Meteors –and some of the hometown crowd joined in the fray. Several spectators also threw a punch on Muños while others got contented pelting Cebu players with bottled mineral water. As a result, Cruz suffered a bloodied nape brought by cuts and a swollen eye. He was later brought to a hospital for treatment. “The feud started even when we were still playing in Cebu. It’s unfortunate this thing happened here in our turf," said Meteors coach Jun Noel. Cebu coach Yayoy Alcoseba conceded the match to prevent his players from further harm. The Niños are scheduled to meet the Meteors in the finals Thursday, but the former threatened of not showing up. Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno gave an assurance that there will be no repetition of this untoward incident as they will enforce strict security measures. It was a highly-physical encounter for both teams, which combined for 42 fouls. But the Meteors’ stifling defense made life miserable against the usually explosive Niños. None among Cebu players finished in double figures as the team made just 26% of its field goals (16-of 57), including a paltry 2-of-18 shooting from the 3-point line. “We really came prepared for their outside shooting and they weren’t able to solve our defense," said Noel, whose team bowed to the Ninos twice during the sixth leg held at the New Cebu Coliseum. Behemoth Mark Andaya anchored the team’s defense as he had a tournament high eight blocks while Neil Raneses, Eder Saldua and Mark Moreno combined for 36 points to lead their offense. - RCJ, GMANews.TV