Camarines Sur Gov. Luigi Villafuerte (fourth from left) receives a plaque of recognition from Armstrong Philippines for his support to sports development thru the CamSur Cup invitational basketball championship. Also in photo are (from left) Armstrong tournament director Norman Gomez, commissioner Jimmy Mariano, CamSur Express team manager Solomon Ngo, Armstrong official Ed Ponceja and People’s Tonight sports editor Ed Andaya.
Two wins in a row for CamSur, Perpetual Help
PILI, Camarines Sur — Host CamSur Express and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta walked the tightrope before beating their respective rivals to share the lead in the Cam Sur Cup invitational basketball championship at the Fuerte Sports Complex here Tuesday.
The Express survived a late rally by NAASCU champion St. Clare College of Caloocan, 85-81, while the Altas outsteadied Kuala Lumpur Hornbills, 82-69, for their second straight wins in the week-long competition organized by Armstrong Philippines.
The Gov. Luigi Villafuerte-owned Express squandered several double-digit leads, including a 19-point halftime advantage, but recovered in time to escape with the victory.
Trailing 39-58 at halftime and 62-73 after three quarters, the Saints of coach Jino Manansala outscored the Express, 15-4, to tie the score at 77-77 with less than four minutes left.
The Express, however, responded with a closing 8-4 spurt to clinch the win Jerome Almarion led a well-balanced scoring attack for the Express with 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Rufino Sablaon III added 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists, while Kyle Philip Domagtoy and Verman Magpantay contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Lex Gazzingan was the player for the Caloocan-based Saints, finishing with 26 points, including 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.
Janjan Salazar chipped in 10 points and five assists, followed by Leenard Desabelle with eight points and Joco Bojorcelo and Mark Angelo Ibanez with seven points each.
Earlier, the trio of John Abis, Kenji Duremdes and Jearico Nunez combined for 40 points for coach Olsen Racela.
Abis finished with 15 points, four assists and three rebounds, Duremdes added 13 and Nunez contributed 12 points, respectively.
Duremdes, son of PBA legend Kenneth Duremdes, also had five rebounds.
Former FEU mainstay Patrick Sleat contributed nine points and three assists while Josiah King Alcantara, LA Casinillo, Angelo Gelsano chipped in six points each.
Azbeel Singh Gill led the Hornbills of coach Adrian Wong with 28 points, six steals, five rebounds and two blocks in a losing effort.
Yap Zhi Wei added 12 points and six rebounds while Koo Tze Kian and Teoh Yi Kang contributed eight and seven points, respectively.
The scores:
First game
Perpetual Help (82) — Abis 15, Duremdes 13, Nunez 12, Sleat 9, Alcantara 6, Casinillo 6, Gelsano 6, Manuel 5, Boral 5, Guibao 3, Pizaro 2, Maglupay 0, Tulabut 0
KL Hornbills (69) — Singh 28, Y. Wei, 12, Kian 8, Kang 7, Thung 4, Hong 4, T. Wei 2, Ding 1, An 1
Quarterscores: 26-17, 44-40, 64-56, 82-69
Second game
CamSur (85) — Almarion 17, Sablaon III 14, Domagtoy 11, Magpantay 10, E. Mallapre 7, Acabado 6, Masinas 5, Rito 4, Lim 4, Borbe 3, Redondo 3, V. Mallapre 1
St. Clare College (81) — Gazzingan 26, Salazar 10, Desabelle 8, Bojorcelo 7, Ibanez 7, Escobido 6, Simbulan 6, Loyola 4, Talavera 3, Bautista 2, Manzano 2, Lim 0, Magno 0
Quarterscores: 35-21, 58-39, 73-62, 85-81.
