THE Teleperformance All Stars and the Dyninno Raptors successfully hurdled a twice-to-win handicap as they blasted their higher-ranked foes in separate do-or-die quarterfinal matches last Saturday in the 12th City Sports Club-Cebu (CSC-C) E-League for Basketball at the CSC-C Gym.
Advancing to the Elite Classic best-of-three semifinals were the fifth-seeded All Stars, who eked out masterful 70–48 win over the fourth-ranked ePerformax Reds.
Duplicating their 70–55 Game 1 win, Teleperformance, last year’s losing finalist, was led by the 19 and 12 markers of Dean Junber Escalon and Karlo Miñoza, respectively.
Teleperformance will next face the top-seeded Lexmark Stallions. The other semifinal duel will pit the defending champions Convergys Converters and Accenture Sharks.
The Reds suffered a huge offensive meltdown in the critical match with Esrom Cuizon being the only Eperformax player to score in twin figures with 15.
The Raptors, on the other hand, booked a semifinal ticket in the EVO League semifinals by downing the fourth-ranked Kyocera Frontiers, 66–59.
Ellison Rivera piled up 30 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a steal, providing the much-needed firepower for the fifth-seeded Raptors, who also took down the Frontiers in their initial meeting, 68–52.
Ignatius Loyola ably backed Rivera with his 16 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks, two steals and one assist.
Ariel Ramonito Edera paced the Frontiers 17 markers, while Winston Stephen Panal and Eduardo Tuico Jr. added 13 apiece.
Up next for Dyninno is a race-to-two semifinal duel with the EVO League top seeds Supportsave Dragons, who have yet to lose a single game this season.
Completing the semifinal cast in the EVO League were the third-seeded QBE Generals, who chalked up an 85-60 drubbing of the sixth-ranked Contact Solutions Flying Lemurs in their own sudden-death matches.
Johnrey Girasol led the Generals with 20 points, Christopher James Durango chipped in 17, while Ariane Baluyot donated 11.
Jerard Dela Cerna fired 17 points, Gharde Malinao tallied 10 for the Flying Lemurs, who crashed back to earth after stunning the Generals in their initial encounter, 86–76.
QBE will next play the number two seed Tech Mahindra Tech Mighties.