Mandaue books finals date with Talisay in Governor’s Cup basketball tournament
Cebu City, Philippines—The Mandaue City Ballers are headed to the finals of the 2019 Governor’s Cup basketball tournament after they waylaid the Minglanilla Archangels, 98-64, in the semifinals on Wednesday, May 1, 2019, at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.
Mandaue City will now take on the reigning champions Talisay City in Game 1 on Friday, May 3, 2019, at the Talisay City Sports Complex. Game 2 is set on Monday, May 6, at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex. Game 3, if necessary, will be on Wednesday, May 8, at a venue that is neutral to the finalists.
After a tight first period that saw Mandaue go up by just one, 24-23, the Ballers suddenly asserted themselves with dominant performances in the middle periods. With Lemuel Gonzaga, Archie Buscay and Paul Sungahid scoring at will, Mandaue pushed ahead by 18, 53-35, at halftime.
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The coup de grace came in the third as Kenneth Brillo and Gabriel Cometa combined to score 21 of the team’s 30 points during that stretch to help the Ballers erect what proved to be an insurmountable 83-51 lead heading to the last period.
Brillo finished with 20 points but will be missing Game 1 as he will be serving a one-game suspension after he got ejected from the game in the final minute for committing an unsportsmanlike foul.
Cometa put up 18 of his while Sungahid and Buscay ended up with 16 and 13 markers, respectively, even as Gonzaga ended up with 12. /bmjo
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