Second Quarter: Dasmariñas 18 — Cebu City 7
The first quarter break was a whirlwind of calculated chaos. The Dasmariñas bench was electric, but Coach Gutierrez immediately dampened the euphoria.
"Listen to me!" Coach G barked, his voice raw. "That lead... that lead is a trap! We angered the dragon, and now we have to face his fire. Jacob is smart. Their coach is smart. They know the 4-on-4 isn't working. They're going to try something new. They're going to force the issue."
Daewoo Kim, his entire body convulsing with exhaustion, was gulping water. "Coach... I can go... I can go back in."
"No, you can't," Coach G said, gently pushing him down. "You did your job. You gave us the lead and you bought us the time. Now, it's John's turn."
He turned to John Manalo, the taller, stronger defender. "John. Same mission. Face-guard. Deny. BUMP him. Jacob scored seven points, but it took him a quarter of running a marathon. We need another ten minutes of that. No air. No space. No rest."
John nodded, his eyes locked on Emon Jacob across the court. "I got him, Coach. I'll make him hate my shadow."
"Good," Coach G confirmed. He looked at the rest of the second-quarter lineup. "Tristan, Marco, Ian, Cedrick. We are rotating Gab out for Cedrick—we need Cedrick's height and shot-blocking inside, because Jacob is going to start driving more. They want to get us into foul trouble. Ian, you have to be disciplined. Marco, look for your spots. But Tristan... you are the engine now. Jacob has put immense pressure on his entire system. You need to put immense pressure on theirs. Attack. Attack. Attack. We win this quarter, we win this game."
Tristan looked at his coach, a silent understanding passing between them. Tristan, powered by his new Gold Floor General and 80 Ball Handle, felt zero fear. Only a calm, tactical anticipation. Let's see what the machine does when it starts overheating.
Start of the Second Quarter: Dasmariñas 18 — Cebu City 7
Cebu's coach had made an immediate, aggressive adjustment. Their 6'7" center, Ramos, now started the quarter at the free-throw line, poised to set a massive screen. Emon Jacob, still fuming, sprinted towards him as the ball was inbounded.
John Manalo, the new "dog," was right there, using his superior strength to push past Ramos and stick to Jacob.
Jacob tried to use the screen, but Ramos, seeing the density of John's defense, moved higher.
"They're going to the high screen!" Tristan yelled to his teammates. "Switch, Ian! Switch!"
The idea was to force Jacob to go against the 6'6" Ian, who had better verticality than John. But Jacob was too quick. He waved his center off.
"Isolation!"
Jacob drove, hard, right at John Manalo. John bumped him, absorbing the contact. Jacob spun and rose for a fadeaway jumper.
The shot was contested, but it was pure.
Swish.
Score: Dasmariñas 18 - Cebu 9
Jacob glared at John, but the jumper took effort. He was breathing hard. The system was forcing him to play hero ball from the jump.
Tristan brought the ball up. He saw Jacob was still denying Marco, leaving his point guard, Abella, open to guard Tristan. Tristan, now with an 80 Ball Handle, saw this as an insult.
He looked at Abella. Abella was a good defender, but he was fundamentally scared, still rattled from the first-quarter breakdown.
Tristan isolated him. Crossover, behind-the-back, and then he hit his new Bronze Ankle Breaker move—a quick, hesitation dribble and an explosive acceleration.
Abella's feet tangled for a half-second. It was all Tristan needed.
He blew past Abella and drove into the lane. The Cebu center, Ramos, rotated over.
Tristan, knowing Ramos was bigger than Cedrick, didn't challenge him. He used his Silver Slithery Finisher to spin away from Ramos and found the open man: Cedrick, cutting along the baseline.
Cedrick caught the pass and laid it in.
Score: Dasmariñas 20 - Cebu 9
Tristan looked at Abella. I own you.
Jacob, desperate to get back into the flow, ran the high screen again. John, now prepared, fought through the screen perfectly, but the Cebu forward, Chavez, was cheating to block John's path.
It was illegal, but the ref missed it. John was caught for a half-second.
Jacob had his space. He took two steps inside the arc and launched another mid-range jumper.
Swish.
Score: Dasmariñas 20 - Cebu 11
Jacob was relentless. He scored four straight points.
Tristan was not rattled. They're trading twos for twos, he thought. That's our victory.
He brought the ball up. He saw Marco being blanketed by Jacob. Tristan knew Marco would only get easy looks if he forced Jacob to move.
Tristan called a high pick-and-roll with Ian. Jacob, seeing the play, yelled to switch.
Now Marco was being guarded by the slower forward, Chavez. Jacob was on Ian.
Tristan hit Ian with the pass. Jacob immediately jumped the passing lane, trying to intercept the ball.
Tristan, using his Gold Floor General vision, anticipated the attempt. He pump-faked the pass to Ian, causing Jacob to stumble.
Tristan immediately pulled the ball back, spun past Abella, and hit an 18-foot mid-range jumper.
Score: Dasmariñas 22 - Cebu 11
It was a smooth, effortless jump shot. Tristan's Mid-Range Shot: 80 was on full display. He didn't just score. He made Jacob look foolish.
Jacob, livid, took the ball again. He saw John Manalo's defense was suffocating. He decided to use the contact against him.
He drove, initiated contact with John, and then tried to sell a foul.
WHISTLE.
Foul on John Manalo. John's first. Two free throws for Jacob.
"He's adjusting, Coach," Aiden yelled from the bench. "He knows the refs won't call fouls on his drives, but they will call them when he's being denied!"
Jacob calmly sank both free throws.
Score: Dasmariñas 22 - Cebu 13
Tristan was now facing a dilemma. John had a foul, and Jacob was getting calls. They needed to stop fouling, but they needed to keep the pace.
Tristan brought the ball up and ran a slow, deliberate set. He saw Marco, now being guarded by the slower Chavez, sprint off a double screen.
Chavez was lost. Marco was wide open. Tristan hit him with a crisp, fast pass—a clear showcase of his Silver Dimer.
Marco caught it and pulled up for a three-pointer.
Swish!
Score: Dasmariñas 25 - Cebu 13
The Cebu coach was frantic. He called a set play for Jacob, knowing the offense was stalled.
Jacob ran off two screens—a baseline screen from Chavez and a curl screen from Ramos. It was designed to lose John Manalo.
John, tenacious but gassed, was momentarily caught on the final screen. Jacob was open for a split second, sprinting into the key.
Jacob caught the pass, took one step, and soared. A massive, powerful dunk.
The crowd, finally, had something to cheer about.
Score: Dasmariñas 25 - Cebu 15
The gap was closing. Jacob had 9 points this quarter, 16 total.
Dasmariñas called time out.
Coach G rushed the huddle. "Listen! They're hitting a rhythm! But who is scoring?! HIM! ONLY HIM! This is still a win! But John, be smarter! He's drawing fouls! Now, Tristan! We need five points from you right now! We need a dagger!"
"Yes, Coach," Tristan said, feeling the weight of the moment.
Tristan came out of the timeout, his eyes blazing. He was not looking at his teammates. He was not passing. He was going to answer the dunk.
He isolated Abella at the top of the key. Abella sagged back, terrified of the Ankle Breaker.
Tristan used his new 75 Acceleration to explode past him, driving hard right. The center, Ramos, dropped to cover.
Tristan, in mid-air, hung, using his Acrobat skill to avoid contact, and hit a crazy, reverse layup off the glass.
Score: Dasmariñas 27 - Cebu 15
Jacob was still taking the ball. John was still fighting. The duel was brutal, a sheer war of attrition.
Jacob, seeing he couldn't get a clean look, tried to drive into the paint to draw another foul.
He ran into Cedrick. Cedrick, a towering 6'5", stood his ground.
WHISTLE.
Offensive foul. Charge. Jacob's second foul.
The entire Dasmariñas bench erupted. John Manalo pumped his fist.
Cebu's coach was fuming. He immediately subbed Jacob out for the first time in the quarter. He needed to cool his star down.
"NOW!" Tristan screamed at his team. "THEY HAVE NO ENGINE! ATTACK!"
The plan shifted immediately to a pure 5-on-5 attack against the four "passengers."
Tristan ran the fast break, 4-on-3. He drove, dishing a perfect, no-look pass to Ian, who finished the easy layup.
Score: Dasmariñas 29 - Cebu 15
Cebu's coach called another timeout. The silence was deafening. The crowd was turning hostile towards their own team.
Cebu came out of the timeout with Jacob back in the game, forced to play with two fouls. He was visibly frustrated, but disciplined. He let his PG, Abella, handle the ball.
The 'Dog Pound' was back, but Coach G subbed John out, putting Daewoo back in. Fresh legs.
Daewoo immediately picked up Jacob.
Abella, with Jacob back on the court, actually ran a smart play, a deep baseline cut for Chavez.
The pass came. Chavez caught it and was wide open for a corner three.
Swish!
Score: Dasmariñas 29 - Cebu 18
The first non-Jacob points of the game. The machine was starting to whir again.
Tristan knew he needed to stop the momentum. He didn't call a play. He pointed at Marco. "Isolation!"
Marco dribbled, jab-stepped, and used his speed to blow past his defender, Chavez. He finished with a floater.
Score: Dasmariñas 31 - Cebu 18
Jacob had the ball again. He was tired of Daewoo, tired of the bumping. He drove, met the 6'6" Ian, and pulled up.
He missed. It was his first missed shot this quarter.
Ian grabbed the defensive rebound.
Tristan, in possession, slowed the pace. He was looking at the clock. He had a 13-point lead. Time to eat the clock.
He ran a patient, two-minute set, swinging the ball, forcing the Cebu defense to run. He was showing off his Gold Floor General—dictating tempo, forcing mistakes.
With ten seconds left on the shot clock, he drove, drew the defense, and kicked out to Cedrick. Cedrick, stepping into the three-point line, calmly hit a mid-range jumper.
Score: Dasmariñas 33 - Cebu 18
Jacob, exasperated, came down and hit one last, difficult, off-balance jumper over Daewoo.
Score: Dasmariñas 33 - Cebu 20
Tristan answered with a deep three-pointer over a late-recovering Abella.
Swish!
Score: Dasmariñas 36 - Cebu 20
The lead was 16. Tristan had scored 8 points this quarter and was running the offense with terrifying efficiency.
Cebu's final possession. They were trying to get another shot for Chavez, but the Dasmariñas defense, disciplined and anticipating the play, shut them down.
The ball went to Jacob, 28 feet out, with four seconds left. Daewoo was glued to him.
Jacob tried a deep step-back three.
It rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.
End of the Second Quarter: Dasmariñas 36 — Cebu City 20
The crowd was silent. The scoreboard told the story.
Emon Jacob: 13 Points in the Quarter. 20 Total.
Cebu City Team (Excluding Jacob): 0 Points in the First Quarter. 3 Points in the Second. 3 Total.
Tristan Herrera walked off the court, not pumping his fist, but just nodding to his team. He had done what he was supposed to do. He had countered the Machine's adaptation. He had out-generalled the best player in the country.
In the huddle, Coach G was finally, grudgingly, smiling. "We did it. We won the half. We made them play a 4-on-4 game, and we won by 16 points. Tristan, you were magnificent. You answered everything they threw at us."
He looked at his team, his voice radiating pride. "But Jacob has 20 points. And he has two fouls. They're going to come out furious in the third. We just need to survive. We just need to hold the line."
Tristan nodded. I'll do more than survive, Coach, he thought, looking at the scoreboard. I'll break the machine.