Aquastars rout Tabogon, keep record clean

ALCANTARA,Cebu — MJAS Zenith-Talisay City kept its amazing winning run going, blasting Tabogon, 104-75, in a one-sided win that was virtually in the bag as early as first half as action in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup resumed on Friday at the Civic Center here.

Unlike their previous two matches wherein they had to make adjustments in the second half to take control of the game, the Aquastars did not wait long this time as they asserted themselves in the second canto and outscored the Voyagers, 27-12, to build a 19-point lead at halftime, 47-28.

Lord Casajeros and homegrown talent Joshua Dela Cerna were particularly lethal during that stretch as they combined to score the team’s last nine points before the halftime buzzer. From there, it was all Talisay City as their reserves took full advantage of the extra playing time and wreaked havoc upon the Voyagers’ defense.

Talisay City remains perfect in this tournament at 7-0 while Tabogon’s rollercoaster campaign continued as they fell to 3-4.

The Voyagers were coming off a morale-boosting 76-73 win over the heavily-favored ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu Heroes on Thursday night but failed to bring the energy against Talisay City, which led to the 29-point defeat.

With none of the Aquastars’ starters playing more than 14 minutes, five reserves scored in double-figures led by Dela Cerna and Gimpayan who scored 14 points each. Dela Cerna, a former standout of the Cebu Institute of Technology-University in the CESAFI, added four boards, four assists, and a steal in 20 minutes of action.

Jan Jamon added 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists while Patrick Cabahug, Dave Moralde, and Egie Boy Mojica tallied 11 markers apiece.

In all, Talisay City’s reserves combined to score a whopping 84 points while their counterparts managed just 32.

“This is our third game in four days and we have another game tomorrow. Buti we were able to manage the minutes of our players and no one played more than 20 minutes,” said Aquastars head coach Aldrin Morante.

In another game, Red-hot KCS Computer Specialist-Mandaue City dumped ARQ Bulders-Lapu Lapu, 75-66, for its fifth straight win.

But the victory didn’t come easy for the Mandaue hoopsters.it was not

Trailing 14-36 midway through the second stanza and 57-72 in the latter part of the payoff period, ARQ unleashed a 9-0 run capped Reed Juntilla’s three-point spree to move within six, 66-72, with 1:06 left.

But Lapu-Lapu failed to score the rest of the way, giving KCS the hard-earned win.

“Great execution and everybody is doing their job. We followed the game plan and it paid off,” said KCS assistant coach Jabby Bautista. “Though may lapses sa endgame but still the defense won it for us.”

Mandaue put the defensive shackles on the Heroes right from the get-go, holding the Heroes to a 2-of-19 shooting clip in the first quarter while dropping 27 points, 27-7.

“Good thing na nangyayari yung mga ganon situations that the other team is making a run para the team will know what to do if mangyari ulit sa next games,” added Bautista.

The scores:
First game
KCS-Mandaue 75 – Roncal 14, Solera 10, Tamsi 9, Cachuela 8, Mercader 7, Bonganciso 6, Imperial 5, Octobre 5, Delator 4, Mendoza 4, Soliva 3, Castro 0.

ARQ Lapu-Lapu 66 – Juntilla 18, Ochea 9, Tangkay 9, Lusdoc 9, Minguito 7, Arong M. 7, Arong F. 4, Galvez 2, Berame 1, Mondragon 0, Solis 0, Abad 0.

Quarterscores: 27-7, 44-30, 60-44, 75-66.

Second game

Talisay City (104) — Dela Cerna 14, Gimpayan 14, Jamon 12, Cabahug 11, Moralde 11, Mojica 11, Casajeros 7, Mabigat 6, Hubalde 4, Menina 4, Egilos 3, Cuyos 3, Santos 2, Villafranca 2, Acuña 0.

Tabogon (75) — Bringas 14, Lacastesantos 14, Diaz 13, Bersabal 10, Orquina 9, Caballero 6, Sombero 4, Vitug 3, Delos Reyes 2.