Arman Ponce went six-for-six from the free throw line in the final 25.6 seconds to help the University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars survive the pesky Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras, 84-79, and win the championship crown of the 1st M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Summer Basketball Challenge last Monday at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Jaguars swept the best-of-three title series, 2-0, as they duplicated their 84-77 Game One victory last Friday.
USJ-R, however, had to ward off SWU's mighty rally in the waning moments that saw the Cobras nearly completing an improbable comeback.
Two nifty layups by Ponce gave the Jaguars a safe 77-66 lead with only 1:42 left in the game.
The Cobras then dropped a barrage of three-pointers with Cris Litorja converting the first triple that cut the Jaguars' lead to just seven, 77-70.
Eric Zanoria sank another triple and after USJ-R's Lyndon Gudes made a free throw, Clifford Maguate nailed his own triple from the top of the arc as the Cobras further inched closer, 76-78, with 26.6 ticks to go.
Ponce then canned two freebies to give the Jaguars more breathing space, 80-76, time down to 25.6 seconds.
Litorja kept the window of opportunity open for the Cobras when he fired another three-pointer that made it 79-80 with 17.1 seconds left in the clock.
Ponce was again sent to the foul line and the diminutive point guard coolly sank his free throws to stretch USJ-R's lead back to three 82-79, 14.6 ticks to go.
The Jaguars hammered the final nail on the Cobras' coffin with a defensive stop, blocking the potential game-tying three-point attempt of Ritchie Jalandoni.
Ponce pegged the final tally with another pair of free throws in the final 6.6 seconds.
Jabe Delfino topscored for the Jaguars with 17 points, while Ponce contributed 15.
Manny Gabas and Jan Malinao added a combined 25 points as the Jaguars pocketed the P50,000 top purse.
Zanoria finished with 21 points, Litorja tallied 17, Maguate donated 14, while Jalandoni chipped in 10 for the Cobras, who badly missed the services of key player Alfred Belande.
Belande and USJ-R's Abulaiz Suliman served a one-game suspension after involving in a fistfight in Game One. The Cobras settled for P30,000.
Third-placer University of San Carlos (USC) got P15,000, while Asian College of Technology (Act) was given P5,000. /Correspondent Calvin D. Cordova
