8 April 2019
MANDAUE CITY—Egged on by the sellout crowd, Mandaue City stage a blistering run in the second quarter to turn back the Consolacion Sarok Weavers, 83-68, and snatch the Sixth District crown of the 2019 Governor’s Cup Under-21 Inter Cities/Municipalities Basketball Tournament last Monday night, April 8, at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.
Gabriel Cometa erupted for 33 points—most of them came in a back-breaking run in the second period that set the stage for the lopsided win and netted Mandaue a P100,000 cash prize.
Mandaue was protecting a slim 20-19 lead when Cometa caught fire, sparking a 19-3 attack that gave his team a 39-22 cushion at the bend.
Cometa scored 13 points in the pivotal second quarter
Mandaue was never really threatened after as it built several 20 point leads in the third.
The Sarok Weavers staged a mini run in the fourth but the best they could do was to move within 59-69 in the final 3:20 mark.
It was actually a repeat performance for Mandaue, which earned a championship ticket by defeating the same Consolacion squad a day before their title duel, 76-65.
Both Mandaue and Consolacion advanced to the crossover quarterfinal round.
“The quarterfinal round is going to be tougher. We are a small team but the players have the desire to win. That will be our main weapon in the next round,” said Mandaue coach Gary Cortes, who also calls the shots for the UV Green Lancers in the Cesafi basketball tournament.
Archie Buscay and Art Marco also played big for Mandaue and chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Keith Padayogdog paced Consolacion with 26 markers.
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