Mark Cardona nailed a cold-blooded three-point shot with one tenth of a second yesterday to lift Harbour Centre to a heart-rending 75-73 win over a gritty Toyota Otis-Letran squad yesterday in the 2005 PBL Unity Cup at the FEU gym.
The Knights appeared to have the game in the bag after Dennis Daa hit a tough baseline jumper that enabled them to grab the lead for only the second time, 73-72, with only 15 ticks left.
But Cardona came to the Port Masters' rescue, hitting a three-point shot that proved to be the dagger in the heart of the Knights who rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second to set the tone for a cardiac finish.
Before that big basket, Cardona forced his way inside heavy traffic and his shot was blocked by the 6-foot-4 Daa with 2.7 ticks left that saw Toyota supporters breaking into thunderous applause.
It was a highly physical game that saw the match interrupted three times right in the first quarter due to flagrant and unsportsmanlike fouls.
In all, the game was marked by 55 fouls. Though he scored only 21 points, a far cry from his 31 points average in the first two games, Cardona was more satisfied with his performance this time as he shot an impressive 8-of-11 shooting.
He also had six rebounds, three steals and two assists in 25 minutes of action. The only blot in Cardona's performance was the unsportsmanlike foul slapped on him for planting an elbow at the neck of the tight-guarding Ardy Larong.
It was the second straight win for the for the Port Masters in three games while the loss was the second straight for the Intramuros-based squad after stunning defending champion Magnolia Ice Cream, 63-62, last week.
Cardona's heroics put Daa's breakout game to waste as the burly forward tallied a career-high 27 points, 12 of them in the fourth quarter where he engaged Cardona in a torrid shootout. Cardona had 11 points in the fourth.
Despite the win, Harbour coach Tonichi Yturri was far from satisfied as he lamented the team's near collapse.
"We have to play really smart. They have to learn how to compose themselves," rued Yturri. "We should know how to finish the game, hindi katulad nitong panalong ito. They are still young, masyadong reactionary sila."
Harbour's Jerwin Gaco was even ejected after hitting Larong in the crotch early in the third that enabled the Knights to methodically cut Harbour's lead down to 52-59 going into the final quarter.
Emerson Oreta ignited Toyota's whirlwind finish, hitting a three-point shot that sparked a 9-0 attack to grab the lead 73-72 with 16 seconds remaining.
The scores:
Harbour Centre 75 - Cardona, Mesina 13, Espinas 10, Bugia 9, Sanz 8, Castro 3, Membrere 3, Tenorio 2, Mendoza 2, Gaco 2, Gatumbato 2, Buenafe 0.
Toyota Otis 73- Daa 27, Macapagal 9, Oreta 7, Capati 6, Tagupa 5, Enrile 4, Larong 4, Andaya 4, Coronel 3, Rodriguez 2, Pinera 2, Tojonera 0, Alonzo 0
14 comments:
cardona ah? iba na yata taste mo ngayon?
nice to see mac's pic here,, archer ang bida sa blog mo.milagro!
aba, anong ginagawa ng pic ni mac dito? iba na yan
hey, im from letran and saw the game last tuesday, it was a nice game.
duda ako sayo mika
baka okay na si cardona ngayon kasi kakampi na niya ang eagles.
ngeh, malabo yan. si mika pa. kilala ko yan. ma priddddddeeeeeeee yan! kahit nga si mac na ang nagpapanalo sa team, di pa rin nya inaacknowlge eh, as if wala lang. hahaha
magtatampo si tenorio nyan
tsamba lang ni cardona yung tres na yun
you're so hard on him.
in all fairness kasi... he made that shot although.. LA can surely hit that shot also.. he's known for that.
and where's la's pic?
not seen here but in my heart... he has a clear pic there...hahaha
but hey, tenorio was part of that last play.. if not for him, cardona wouldn't have made that shot. if not for his pass.. nunka!!!
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