The Sykes Pioneers defeated the Wipro Tigers, 77-70, in the Elite Classic division of the CSCC E-Leagues For Basketball 2019. | contributed photo
Cebu City, Philippines—The Sykes Pioneers kicked off their title defense on a high note, defeating the Wipro Tigers, 77-70, in the Elite Classic division of the CSCC E-Leagues For Basketball 2019 on Sunday, July 28, 2019, at the City Sports Club Cebu.
Even without reigning MVP Janjan Auditor, the Pioneers still had more than enough firepower in their arsenal to put down the Tigers. Down 33-39 at halftime, Sykes came out in the third with guns blazing, outscoring Wipro, 29-14, in that stretch to push ahead, 62-53, with just one more period left to play.
Earl Montilla led the way for Sykes with 23 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals while Victor Rabat was just as deadly, piling up 21 points, five boards, five assists and two steals.
John Capuyan added 13 markers while Mark Olmilla nearly had a double-double with eight points, 16 rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots. New recruit, Marl Laguna, formerly of the Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildcats, also had a profound impact as he had eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
Aaron Suson had 18 points and nine rebounds for Wipro.
In other Elite Classic games, the Teleperformance Vipers bested the EPerformax Reds, 65-58. Mon Dico led the way for the Vipers with a double-double performance of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the game between the Dreamscape Lions and the Fusion BPO is still being investigated after an ineligible player was allegedly fielded in.
In the Evo League, last year’s runners-up, Kyocera routed Cognizant, 58-37, as Matthew Grafilo tallied 23 points while Ariel Edera added 12 points and eight rebounds. /bmjo