Pacquiao leads basketball team to victory in Cebu

Sun.Star: CEBU CITY - Manny Pacquiao again led his team to victory over the Cebu Sports Media following a 95-79 win to formally start the 1st MP Cup Invitational Basketball tournament held at the USC Gym on Sunday. Every time the Filipino boxing hero made a basket he was greeted with wild cheers. The crowd laughed with him when he made blunders. “We are all here to enjoy the game. The reason for this tournament is for us to enjoy. Anyway, we have a long way to go," Pacquiao advised the losing media team after the game was concluded. CSMA was controlling the game early in the third, but suddenly lost steam when Pacquiao made his first triple and two lay-ups that put the Team PacMan ahead, a 13-11 lead for good. With the CSMA Hoopsters clearly groping, Team Pacman was unstoppable even if the media team was able to close the lead down to eight points. On Sunday, Pacquiao made everybody happy, not just with his basketball skills, but with his camaraderie with all players. The spectators and autograph seekers, on the other hand, enjoyed photo opportunities with the boxing superstar. Pacquiao had 7 points while the CSMA saw Jojo Satuita of ABS-CBN as top performer with 21 markers. Prior to the opening ceremony, the RWS Stable scored a 69-67 come-from-behind win over the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association (Cecaba) Selection. Chad Cañares topped RWS squad with 27 points while Chester Cokaliong topped for Cecaba with 21 points, all coming from the three point area. RWS Stable (69)—Cañares 27, Que Dennis 24, Dela Calzada 11, Lim 5, Go 2. Cecaba (67)– Cokaliong 21, Tan 17, Yu 10, Kaw 9, Lanutan 4, Uy 2, Calagos 2. Team Pacman (95)—Ceballos 14, Gallego 12, Codeniera 10, Pumariha 10, Rama 8, Pacquiao 7, Gomez 6, Navarro 4, Gerali 4, Igpyt 4, Baclay 2, Panerio 2. CSMA (79)—Satuita 21, Panerio 14, Rillen 12, Migallen 8, Aznar 6, Hemocillo 4, Villaruel 2, Veliganio 2. - Sun.Star