Holcim beats Arthro to bag MVBA crown

Holcim Pryce Pharma-MisOr whipped Arthro Kontra Arthritis, 74-65, last Friday at the New Cebu City Coliseum in Cebu City to bag the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) First Conference. MisOr swept the best-of-three series, two games to nil, according to a league press statement Sunday. MisOr, owned by league chairman Gov. Oscar S. Moreno, made history as the first team from Mindanao to grab the MVBA title. Defense, according to the statement, was the key as winning coach Bong Abad employed a combination of zone and man-to-man defenses to frustrate Arthro, the Visayas Division champions coached by former PBA standout Al Solis. A crippling 15-3 run to close out the third period anchored on Mark Jonas Ababon, Dennis Concha and Randy Sevilla gave MisOr a 54-47 lead that later ballooned to 10 markers midway in the fourth period, 65-55. Arthro gamely fought back with JR Quinahan adding two free throws to threaten 62-65, and 3:30 to play. MisOr answered with back-to-back baskets by Mark Apepe and Concha to ease the pressure. Concha then made two more free throws to put the game beyond reach with still 42 ticks on the clock, 69-62. Quinahan then launched a triple as Arthro's last hurrah, 65-71. Ababon and Concha settled the final tally with free throws. For his outstanding overall performance throughout the conference that saw him average 11.7 points per game, big Frank Nailon was named as Most Valuable Player (MVP). Nailon scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in their 74-71 Game One victory last June 12 at the Xavier University Gym. Scores HOLCIM PRYCE-MISOR (74) Concha 18, Sevilla 9, Apepe 8, Briones 8, Ababon 8, Tagupa 6, Pupos 4, Numeran 4, Nailon 4, Jabagat 3, Navales 2, Sagad 0. ARTHRO-CEBU (65) Quinahan 29, Ursal 13, Diputado 8, Justiniani 5, Cainglet 4, Gadiane 4, Berame 2, Gabas 0, Abelong 0, Abellanosa 0, Mercado 0, Luga 0, Garcia 0, Santos 0, Redulosa 0. Period Scores: 21-13, 32-31, 54-47, 74-65. - GMANews.TV