COCOLIFE Tigers edge sharks

Deadshot Joseph Terso buried a couple of killer treys in the dying seconds to bring life back to Davao Occidental COCOLIFE Tigers as they snatched a hard-earned 65-61 victory over the Cebu Sharks in the elimination round of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Lakan Cup recently at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

The Sharks were on the verge of pulling off a giant-sized upset win after Jason Viloria and Raffy Oktubre joined hands in a 7-0 run to secure a 4-point lead, 61-57, with over a minute left in the game.

The  Sharks’ premature celebration was snapped by Terso’s scoring show in the endgame as he scored a basket with 1:13 left, to go with a back-to-back triples to carry Davao from imminent defeat and into its eighth straight win in the season.

Both teams started slow, posting a low 13-11 first-quarter score in favor of the Tigers.

The Mindanao team of Dumper Party List Congresswoman Claudine Bautista of Davao Occidental backed by COCOLIFE president Atty. Jose Martin Loon, FVP Joseph Ronquillo, AVP Rowena Asnan and SVP Franz Joie Araque unleashed a tight defense and an 11-0 blast for a 24-11 lead, ignited by veterans Billy Robles,Mark Yee and Bogs Raymundo .

Cebuano frontliners Al Mc Aloney, Oktubre and Lee Yu gallantly  fought back to end the half, 30-34.

It was tooth and nail in the final half until it was decided in a close victory for the Tigers, who stayed on top of the team standings with a 10-1 record in the south division of the 31-team league organized by Senator Manny Pacquiao.

“Nagbunga din ang shooting practice ko sa training. Na-maintain namin ang aming composure lalo na sa endgame. Matagal na kaming magkakasama kaya saulado na  ang galawan,” said Terso, who earned his first Best Player of the Game award as a Tiger with 16 points and 5 rebounds.