Convergys, QBE Generals up, 1-0, in E-League finals

THE CONVERGYS Converters and the QBE Generals stood on the precipice of greatness as they grabbed a 1-0 series lead over their respective opponents in the Elite Classic and Evo League finals in the Tanduay Athletics E-Leagues for Basketball Season 13 last Saturday at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.

The Converters banked on a strong showing in the middle periods to hack out a 74-62 victory over the Teleperformance All Stars in Game 1 of the best-of-three finals in the Elite Classic division.

The win placed Convergys on the brink of a third straight title.

The Generals, on the other hand, played solid basketball in the third period, which proved enough to vanquish the Contact Solutions Flying Lemurs, 64-59.

That victory gave QBE a headstart in their best-of-three affair.

The Game 2s of the two championship showdowns were being played in as of this writing.

Elite MVP

Former Letran Knight Franz Dysam was a one-man wrecking crew for the Converters as he scored 29 points to go with four assists, two steals and two rebounds.

Dysam was eventually named MVP of the Elite Classic division and also earned a spot in the Mythical Five, with Teleperformance’s Mon Dico and Marcos Jungoy, Accenture’s Archie Batua and Lexmark’s Franco Cipriano. Dico also nabbed Rookie of the Year honors.

Aldene Batino provided a much-needed boost as he piled up a double-double of 14 markers, 14 boards along with four assists, four steals and a blocked shot.

The All Stars actually led, 19-17, after the opening canto but the Converters turned their game up a notch in the second, blasting Teleperformance, 24-13, during that stretch to head to halftime with a 41-32 lead. Things turned worse for the All Stars in the third as the Converters pushed pedal to the metal and extended their lead to 16, 59-43, heading to the last period.

In the Evo division, Johnrey Girasol paced the Generals with 19 points while Carlo Cabarrubias added 10 to push them to within a win away from earning the championship. It was a nip-and-tuck affair in the first half which saw QBE lead, 32-30, at halftime.

But the Generals found their rhythm and outgunned the Lemurs, 18-10, in the third to bring a 50-40 lead to the final 10 minutes of action.
QBE then fended off Contact Solutions’ comeback tries to grab the win.

Meanwhile, the Lemurs’ Roberto Castro was named the Evo division’s MVP. He was joined on the Mythical Five by Tech Mahindra’s Luigi Olbes and Robert Rebano, The Results’ Jade Seno and Giraso of QBE.