Wellington just too much for Taipei in MVP Cup opener

Dennis Acosta
By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY--Wellington's impressive preseason buildup continued on Friday with a 108-80 rout of Chinese Taipei in the first game of the Master Gameface MVP Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Saints blew their match against the Taiwanese ballers wide open in the second half, outscoring them, 63-38, to turn a close 45-42 advantage at halftime to a laugher at fulltime.

Brook Ruscoe and Ray Turner chipped in 25 points each for the New Zealand-based side, which on Saturday will face another familiar foe from the Jones Cup, Gilas Pilipinas.

Box Scores:

Wellington 108–Ruscoe 25, Turner 25, Davis 18, Watkins 14, Edwards 13, Braswell 8, Newton 3, Ekenasio 2, Bloxham 0, Mills 0

Chinese Taipei 80–Liu 13, Tien 11, Tsai 11, Lu 9, Wu 7, S.H. Chen 7, S.C. Chen 5, Hung 5, S.N. Chen 4, Lin 0

Quarterscores: 31-24, 45-42, 76-60, 108-80