The Cebu Ninos are for real

For those who doubt how good are the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Cebu Ninos outside of the Philippine Basketball Association, well believe the hype.

In extending their remarkable winning streak to 25 games (not counting those tune-up games against the likes of Smart Gilas and PBA clubs), the Cebuano cagers etched their name into the history books as the first-ever leg champion of the Tournament of the Philippines, the joint venture between the Philippine Basketball League and Liga Pilipinas.

The Ninos finally showed what kind of a team they are when they scored a masterful 87-73 victory over the PBL's Ascof Lagundi in the finals of the Manila leg held at the Emilio Aguinaldo College gym.

It felt like another title for the M. Lhuillier and coach Yayoy Alcoseba once again showed his stoic but contented smile as his players whooped it up.

For Alcoseba, he felt it was the best game they played since coming over in Manila.

"This was perhaps the best game we played in the leg as seen in the way we played in this finals," said Alcoseba.

Although they swept all three elimination round games, the Ninos showed flashes of rust and sluggishness since playing their last tournament came in the Liga Conference III in November (that completed a rare 21-game sweep).

Still, M. Lhuillier was able to hurdle Ani-FCA (which has its own streak although not everyone would be proud of), Treston Laguna and Ascof Lagundi.

How good are the Ninos even on bad days?

On offense, they move the ball well. The addition of Warren Ybanez (the Finals MVP for the ASEAN Basketball League champion Philippine Patriots and should have made the Barako Coffee roster) solidify the backcourt alongside Stephen Padilla even without wily guard Woodraw Enriquez because of a cervical spine injury he endured after a fall against the Alaska Aces in a tune-up game.

Their big men, Marlon Basco (who is a bit more bulky than his Ginebra days), Abby Santos, Frank Nailon and Nat Cruz, aren't the biggest and athletic Cebu had but they challenge every shot inside on both ends leading to numerous rebounds. As seen against Ascof, they were able to outhustle and forced big men Vic Manuel and Raymond Aguilar to muff inside baskets.

They also have good scorers. Mark Magsumbol is underrated but can hit the jumper and drive inside while Bruce Dacia is a shadow of his former self (high-flying days in the MBA) plus injuries has slowed him down but makes up for it with a decent outside shot.

Perhaps, one key ingredient for this team is the cohesion they have. Cebu isn't as strong this year unlike its Conference III roster (the bench is more deeper back then although the core remains almost the same) has been together even before Liga Pilipinas was formed so almost everyone is familiar with each other.

Back to Padilla, age has somehow slowed down the former pro cager but not his outside shot. He squares up well and shoots consistently. No wonder, he holds the record for the most of threes not only in the MBA and in Liga. And thus far, he carries the TOP record (firing eight against Ani-FCA).

And with the Ninos' huge 19-point deficit reduced to just six entering the fourth quarter, in came Padilla and less than 20 seconds fired a three-pointer from the right elbow.

Later, he made two more from rainbow distance and by then Cebu was ahead by 15 and never looked back.

With this win, are the Ninos the team to beat? There are still teams that are also capable of winning this initial tournament.

Misamis Oriental, Cebu's chief rival, is expected to field a strong lineup (probably with Patrick Cabahug and Khiel Misa there) and Cobra Energy Drink has enlisted three ex-UE Red Warriors who are coming off stints in the ABL (Elmer Espiritu, Val Acuna and Rudy Lingganay) plus bullstrong Pari Llagas and Jorel Canizares.

We'll see. Eight more legs to go.