Gators wrest FIBL title, nip Blue Sharks
Gray Gators survived a late uprising by the defending champion Blue Sharks to hack out a 67-65 triumph Thursday night and wrest the Filipino Indian Basketball League-Canadian Cup at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Rajesh Asswani and Dinesh Mohnani delivered down the stretch as the Gray Gators averted a collapse to dethrone the Blue Sharks.
Mohnani gave the Gators the lead with 47 seconds left, before finding Asswani for a triple to seal the crown.
“We could not break their trapping defense in the final quarter but we hit the big shots that mattered,” said Gators coach Chito Victolero, who was chosen Coach of the Year.
The Gators also drew strength from finals series MVP Sajeev Gangwani who anchored the strong start before combining with Vladimir Singh and Rajesh Chulani to build a 50-31 advantage in the third period.
The Blue Sharks rallied behind regular season MVP Manoj Chandumal who sparked a searing 23-6 surge that pushed his team ahead 63-62.
Singh topscored for the Gators with 16 points plus 11 rebounds while Gangwani had 14 points to go with 25 rebounds and 10 blocks.
Chandumal paced the Blue Sharks with 27 points with Prashant Dargani and Ken Pessumal contributing 11 points apiece. Cedelf P. Tupas
