Cebu City, Philippines—ASPA and V-Drink Malunggay Juice advanced to the next round of the playoffs in the MSBC Friendship Cup after they each registered contrasting wins on Monday, May 27, 2019, at the Casals Village gym in Barangay Mabolo.
ASPA humiliated the Rams, 74-45, while V-Drink nipped Silogan ni Gian in overtime, 75-71.
ASPA did not waste time in asserting itself in the contest as it led, 22-7, after the first period.
ASPA continued its onslaught and eventually brought its lead to 53-30 with just one more period left to play.
JR Bacatan led the way for ASPA with 18 points while John Cesa added 16.
Rumar Ponce had 13 while Junjie Aclan put up 12.
Next up for ASPA will be the second-seeded Spartans, which feature former Cebu City Sharks wingman Ian Ortega and ex-University of San Carlos guard Jabby Bautista.
In the other game, V-Drink just had enough firepower to overcome Silogan ni Gian in overtime.
John Cabahug led the way with 23 points while Ryan Llanos and Archie Batua combined for 22.
The road gets tougher for V-Drink as it next faces the top seed of the tournament, the Hard Court Kings, which is being led by former University of the Visayas standouts Randy dela Pisa and John Abad.
James Cabilino put up 25 points for Silogan ni Gian. /bmjo