Talisay spoils Leode Garcia's Dumaguete debut, nears elims sweep

Jaymar Gimpayan's double-double towed the Aquastars past the Warriors. Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas/Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup (file photo)

By Dugout Philippines

ALCANTARA—MJAS Zenith-Talisay City continued on its rampage, trampling Dumaguete, 77-66, to register their ninth win in a row in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, Tuesday night at the Civic Center here in Cebu.

With a semifinals berth already locked in, Talisay City is now looking to complete a clean sweep of the double round-robin elimination round with only the ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu City standing in their way on Thursday, April 29, at 3 p.m.

"Hindi namin iniisip yung sweep. One game at a time pa rin yung approach namin," said Aquastars head coach Aldrin Morante.

With new head coach Leode Garcia at the helm, Dumaguete looked rejuvenated and kept in step with the league-leaders, down by just three, 13-16, after the first period of action. 

However, Talisay took their game to the next level and unleashed a vicious 18-3 sparked by Egie Boy Mojica, Darrell Menina, and Allan Santos that pushed the Aquastars in front by 18, 34-16.

From there, the rout was on as the Aquastars raised their lead to a high of 29 before Dumaguete outscored Talisay, 28-13, in the final frame to make the final score a more respectable one.

"I'd like to commend everyone for this win as we again no one played more than 20 minutes," said Morante.

"Malaking bagay yung fresh legs para sa amin since ang next namin is ARQ na kumpleto na on Thursday."

Springy forward Jaymar Gimpayan continued his stellar showing in this tournament, piling up a double-double of 14 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal.

Big man Jhaymo Eguilos was also productive in limited minutes as he tallied 11 points, seven boards, two assists, and two steals.

Ronald Roy led Dumaguete with 17 points spiked by five triples. However, the rest of the team shot poorly from the field, making just 30-percent of their attempts. 

The Warriors’ vaunted backcourt of Jaybie Mantilla and James Regalado struggled to make their shots, combining to miss 21 of their 26 shots. Mark Doligon was just as terrible, missing 12 of his 15 attempts.

Dumaguete looks to bounce back tomorrow versus Tubigon Bohol at 7 p.m.

The Scores:

MJAS-Talisay (77)—Gimpayan 14, Eguilos 11, Cabahug 9, dela Cerna 8, Jamon 7, Santos 6, Villafranca 6, Mojica 5, Mabigat 3, Acuña 3, Casajeros 2, Menina 2, Hubalde 1, Ugsang 0, Cuyos 0.

Dumaguete (66)—Roy 17, Regalado 9, Doligon 9, Mantilla 8, Tomilloso 8, Velasquez 7, Ramirez 3, Aguilar 3, Gabas 2, Gonzalgo 0, Porlares 0.

Quarterscores: 16-13, 36-23, 64-38, 77-66.

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