VisMin Super Cup

ALCANTARA, Cebu– With Shane Menina playing his finest game in the tournament, MJAS Zenith-Talisay City downed KCS Computer Specialist-Mandaue on Saturday night, 81-73, to stay unbeaten in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup at the Civic Center here.

Menina, a former University of Cebu standout, scored 25 of his 28 points in the second half as he provided the spark Talisay City needed in beating the gritty Mandaue hoopsters and leading his team to its eighth straight victory in the tournament.

Menina canned two straight triples, a layup and then, issued an assist to Jaymar Gimpayan to shove the Aquastars in front, 50-47. The Aquastars finished the third with an 18-2 run to head to the last canto in front by nine, 58-49.

“Kilala naman nating lahat si Shane, puputok at puputok ‘yan. It was only a matter of time,” said Aquastars head coach Aldrin Morante as Menina was only averaging 4.6 points prior to this game.

Mandaue tried to rally and pulled to within five, 57-62, after a triple by reserve guard Steve Castro. However, Menina’s scorching hot shooting proved too much for KCS as the 6-foot guard continued his scoring binge, tallying 10 of Talisay City’s next 12 points to push them up by 15, 74-59, with just 3:39 remaining in the ballgame.

In the second game, ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu vented its ire on Dumaguete, 76-62, to break out of its recent slump.

Losers of two straight in the second round and four of their last five — including a 66-75 setback to KCS-Mandaue on Friday night, the Heroes needed a win in the worst way and got just that, thanks to inspired performances from Reed Juntilla, Dawn Ochea, and reserve forward Fletcher Galvez.

Juntilla led ARQ in scoring with 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists to help them even their win-loss record up at 4-4 — solo third in the standings.

Ochea notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards while Galvez came off the bench and gave the Heroes a lift with his 13 points, eight boards, two assists and a steal.

“We feel relieved na nakakuha na kami ng panalo after we returned from the suspension,” said ARQ head coach Francis Auquico.

“Ang ganda ng start namin and we played good defense,” Auquico added. “It’s a good win to build on. Now, we have three days to prepare for Talisay.”

The scores:

First game

MJAS-Talisay (81)—Menina 28, Gimpayan 19, Mojica 6, Villafranca 6, Hubalde 5, Eguilos 4, Casajeros 4, Acuña 3, Santos 2, Cabahug 2, Jamon 2, Mabigat 0, Cuyos 0, Dela Cerna 0.

KCS-Mandaue (73)—Imperial 18, Delator 12, Octobre 9, Mendoza 8, Bongaciso 7, Mercader 5, Roncal 4, Solera 4, Castro 3, Cachuela 3, Soliva 0.

Quarterscores: 17-17, 36-39, 58-49, 81-73.

Second game

Lapu-Lapu (76)—Juntilla 14, Ochea 13, Galvez 13, Abad 8, Berame 6, F. Arong 5, Minguito 4, Lusdoc 4, Regero 4, Tangkay 3, M. Arong 2, Solis 0, Mondragon 0, Igot 0.

Dumaguete (62)—Mantilla 18, Regalado 14, Doligon 4, Gabas 10, Velasquez 3, Roy 3, Monteclaro 0, Tomilloso 0, Gonzalgo 0, Porlares 0, Aguilar 0

Quarterscores: 24-13, 42-20, 61-39, 76-62.