Talisay sends Tabogon crashing back to earth to go 7-0

Egie Mojica tries to dunk the ball against Arvie Bringas. Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas/Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup

By Dugout Philippines

ALCANTARA—MJAS Zenith-Talisay City continues to cruise against the competition, snatching its seventh straight win with a 104-75 rout of Tabogon in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, Friday at the Civic Center here in Cebu.

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 roller-coaster 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.

Hubalde, the team’s skipper, tipped his hat off to the team’s reserves for their dominant showing against the Voyagers.

“Everyone is important naman sa team but hats off to my guys for going hard today,” shared Hubalde.

Arvie Bringas and Joemari Lacastesantos led Tabogon with 14 points each while Christian Diaz had a double-double performance of 13 points and 11 rebounds.

MJAS-Talisay closes out its week when it takes on KCS-Mandaue on Saturday night at 8 p.m. Prior to that game, Tabogon takes on Tubigon Bohol at 2 p.m.

The Scores:

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.

Quarterscores: 20-16, 47-28, 73-47, 104-75

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