Niños repulse Meteors to force winner-take-all finals showdown

M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu went to Mark Ababon at crunch time and the seldom-used guard delivered for the Niños, who escaped with a thrilling 73-72 squeaker of Misamis Oriental and forced a winner-take-all showdown for the championship of the Tournament of the Philippines (TOP) finals at the full-packed Xavier University gym in Cagayan De Oro City. Ababon came through with two important baskets and a big defensive gem to carry the visiting squad’s come-from-behind win and level the best-of-five series at 2-all. The series shifted back to Cebu where the Niños aim to become the first champion squad of the event jointly organized by the Philippine Basketball League and Liga Pilipinas. “It was a gamble that I took and I thought Ababon, being a slasher type of a player, can provide us some scoring since they (Meteors) were tightly guarding our shooters," said Niños coach Raul Alcoseba. Ababon, a former star of the University of Visayas, was sent in to replace the fouled out Stephen Padilla with the host team leading by three, 72-69. He immediately went to work by forcing Reed Juntilla to commit an offensive foul. Ramil Tagupa took the spot left by Juntilla, but it was a poor choice for the Meteors as Ababon scored twice against the former Adamson guard, giving his team a 73-72 lead with 50 ticks left. Misamis had the opportunity to regain the lead, but Eder Saldua missed a short jumper. It was a disappointing finish for coach Jun Noel and his troop as they scored just two points after posting a 70-62 lead on two free throws by JayR Taganas with 5:13 left in the game. The Meteors trailed by 10 points after one quarter, but Patrick Cabahug scored eight straight points to close the second period and both teams ended up tied at 41-all at the break. A Cabahug trey gave the Meteors their biggest lead, 59-50, before the team settled for a 60-55 lead into the final period. Cabahug led the Meteors anew with 18 points while Juntilla added 14, but was held scoreless in the payoff period. - RCJ, GMANews.TV