Jhaylord Castro of Talisay sizes up the Sogod defense in a quarterfinal game in the Governor’s Cup basketball tournament. | contributed photo
Cebu City, Philippines —The defending champions Talisay City Aquastars kept their unbeaten record intact as they pummelled Sogod, 83-73, in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Governor’s Cup basketball tournament on Wednesday, April 24, 2019, at the Consolaction National High School gym.
The win pushed Talisay City’s win-loss record to 4-0 to take solo leadership in Bracket B with just two more games remaining in this round.
Only the top two teams of each bracket at the end of the quarterfinals will earn slots to the crossover semifinal round.
Jay Deiparine led the way for the Aquastars with 25 points while Clark Ruedas and Cesafi Mythical Five big man Kendrick Abarquez had 13 markers each. Keaton Taburnal added 11.
Talisay City gained some much-needed separation from Sogod in the third canto where they outscored their opponents, 27-17, to bring a 64-54 lead to the fourth stanza.
Sogod remained winless in five games.
Meanwhile, Balamban kept its bid for the semifinals alive with a thrilling 90-88 overtime victory over Danao in a game played at the Sec. Cerge Remonde Cultural and Sports Complex in Argao.
The win boosted Balamban’s win-loss record to 4-1 to put themselves in a good position to snatch one of the two semifinals tickets being fought for in Bracket A.
The Minglanilla Archangels also kept its flickering hopes for the semifinals alive with a 103-79 rout of Alegria.
The win boosted Minglanilla’s standing to 3-2 (win-loss) in Bracket B but still remain behind the unbeaten Talisay City (4-0).
Five different players scored in double-figures for Minglanilla led by the 24 points of Tristan Cabrera. Cristian Castro put up 18, Alvier Alforque scored 15, Mark Nebril chipped in 13 while Acer Go collected 12 for the Archangels.
Playing without star forward Rohan Montemayor, who already transferred to San Beda, Alegria fell to 1-3 and is already out of contention for the semifinal round.
In Bracket A, the Mandaue City Ballers nabbed their fourth win in as many games after they dropped Samboan, 103-84.
The win kept Mandaue City at the top of their bracket with just two more games left on their slate.
Samboan on the other hand, fell to 1-4. /bmjo