All Stars, Sharks stun top seeds at start of E-League semis
UPSETS rocked the start of the semifinal round in the Elite Classic of the 12th City Sports Club-Cebu (CSC-C) E-League for Basketball after the Telepeformance All Stars and the Accenture Sharks humbled their respective higher-ranked foes last Saturday at the CSC-C Gym.
Ranked fifth in the playoffs, Teleperformance, last year’s losing finalist, used a searing second half attack to down the number one seed Lexmark Stallions, 64-60, while third-seeded Accenture stunned the second seeded and defending champions Convergys Converters, 62-60.
With the impressive wins, the All Stars and the Sharks moved a win away from forcing a best-of-three duel in the Elite Classic finals.
Kevin Clark Navaja and Marcos Jungoy III each scored 11 markers, James Lester Navaja added 10, while Ereneo Sedurifa and Ryan Veloso added nine apiece for the All Stars, who overturned a 26-37 deficit after two quarters of play behind a 38-23 run in the final half.
Teleperformance has been a having a stellar run in the playoffs as it hurdled a twice-to-win disadvantage in their quarterfinal match with ePerformax Reds to earn a semis slot.
Sylvester Millevo paced the Stallions with 17 points, while Vill Duero and Igor Santino Villaluz donated 10 each.
Junas Marion, on the other hand, fired 19 points, while Ryan Edward Llanos contributed 18 to lead Accenture’s own impressive win over Convergys.
The Sharks didn’t slow down after ending the first half with 31-27 edge.
Sherwin Emmanuelle Resilla wound up with 20 points for Convergys but the usually productive Dysam brothers, Franz and Kenneth, were held to a combine 10 points.
EVO League action
In the EVO League, the Supportsave Dragons (no. 1 seed) and Tech Mahindra Tech Mighties (no. 2) inched closer to the championship round with separate wins.
Niño Belande piled up 21 points and Justin Marie Mier had 12 as Supportsave tripped the Dyninno Raptors (no. 5), 62-50, while the Tech Mighties got a combined 50 points from EJ Saavedra, King Luigi Olbes and Rusty Eleazar Salas in beating the QBE Generals (no. 3), 69-66.
Ellison Rivera led the Raptors with 21 points, while Ignatius Loyola contributed 17.
Johnrey Girasol topped QBE with 18 markers, Jecon Bonsucan put in 11 and Christopher James Durango had 10.
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