TALISAY City-MJAS Zenith leaned on the heroics of Shane Menina in the payoff period to bring down Mandaue-KCS Computer Specialist- Mandaue City, 81-73, and keep its perfect record n the second round of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas Vis-Min Super Cup at the Alcantara Sports and Civic Center in Cebu Province over the weekend.

Menina, a former mainsstay of the University of Cebu, scored 25 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to power Talisay to a come-from- behind victory over Mandaue.

Menina’s heroics included back-to-back three-point shots and a well-contested layup in the Aquastars’ 10-0 run that turned a 40-47 deficit into a 50-47 advantage.

Talisay never looked back from there.

The win was the eighth in a row for Talisay, including a five-game sweep in the first round of the eliminations in this prestigious tournaent sponsored by Chooks-to-Go and sanctioned by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB).

“Kilala naman nating lahat si Shane, puputok at puputok ‘yan. It was only a matter of time,” said Aquastars head coach Aldrin Morante.

“This is a character-building win which is good for us heading sa last stretch ng tournament natin,’ added Morante, whose team also defeated Mandaue, 77-57, in their first encouner last April 13.

Shaq Imperial and Gileant Delator shared scoring honors for Mandaue with 18 and 12 points, respectively.

Earlier, Lapu-Lapu City-ARQ Builders snapped a two-game losing skid with a 76-62 win over Dumaguete.

Still smarting from back-to-back losses at the start of the second round, including a 66-75 setback to Mandaue late Friday, the Heroes, went to veteran Reed Untilla and reserve Fletcher Galvez to frustrate Mandaue.

Juntilla finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Heroes, who improved to 4-4 win-loss record.

The scores:

First 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.

Second game
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.
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.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ed Andaya