ALCANTARA — Unheralded Jumike Casera sank a difficult short jumper with 0.3 of a second left, pushing Tubigon Bohol past Dumaguete, 62-61, in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, Wednesday at the Civic Center here in Cebu.
Down one with just nine seconds remaining in the close game, Tubigon Bohol gave the ball to their moneyman, Joseph Marquez, for an isolation play on the left-wing. The left-handed wingman, though, saw himself blocked by Dumaguete big man Jovannie Aguilar.
Fortunately, the 6-foot Casera found himself at the right place at the right time. He then grabbed the offensive rebound and went right up for a short jumper. The shot found nothing but the bottom of the net with just three ticks of a second remaining.
The Warriors had one last shot, but Mannie Gabas’ jumper went awry as time expired. That gave Bohol just their second win in nine matches, bringing them to solo fifth in the standings.
Casera, a homegrown player, finished with seven points and seven boards.
“I designed the play for Marquez to drive the lane and kung ano man ang result, we were going to live it,” shared Bohol’s head coach, Gino Enriquez. “Marquez drove it and walang tawag ang mga referee. Fortunately, Casera was there.
“A win is a win. We’ll take it.”
The game itself saw a nip-and-tuck final frame that had four lead changes and three ties.
Down by three, 55-58, with four minutes left, Manny Gabas sparked a 6-0 spurt that gave the Warriors a three-point edge with 2:07 left. Joseph Marquez then stopped the bleeding with a daredevil drive to the hoop to cut the lead down to just one with 1:51 left.
Great defensive stops from both teams highlighted the last two minutes of the game, leading to the Casera winner.
Veteran forward Pari Llagas continues to be Bohol’s rock in the shaded lane. He tallied 21 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks. Marquez, while hobbled by several injuries, still put up 18 points, 12 boards, two dimes, and three steals.
Dumaguete lost their fifth in a row and are now at the bottom of the standings with a 1-7 card.
On the other hand, Jaybie Mantilla had a double-double for Dumaguete with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Mark Doligon added 15 points—on 5-of-21 shooting—and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, James Regalado chipped in 12 markers, four boards, seven assists, and two steals.
Tubigon Bohol plays its final game of the elims against ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu on Friday at 7PM. Dumaguete, on the other hand, will have Tabogon as its penultimate assignment tomorrow also at 7PM.
The Scores:
Tubigon Bohol (62)—Llagas 21, Marquez 18, Casera 7, Musngi 5, Dadjilul 5, Cabizares 4, Leonida 2, Ibarra 0, Tangunan, Tilos 0, Apolonias 0.
Dumaguete (61)—Mantilla 17, Doligon 15, Regalado 12, Gabas 8, Aguilar 5, Tomilloso 2, Roy 2, Velasquez 0, Gonzalgo 0, Porlares 0.
Quarterscores: 22-13, 34-39, 53-50, 62-61.
