Vipers clinch Division 1 crown in E-League for Basketball

The defending champions Teleperformance (formerly Aegis) Vipers boosted their back-to-back title bid when they dispatched the Lexmark Stallions, 61-50, and bagged the Division 1 crown of the 10th City Sports Club-Cebu (CSC-C) E-League for Basketball last Sunday at the CSC-C Gym.

Sweeping the best-of-three series, 2-0, the Vipers advanced to the E-League Finals where they will meet the winner in the Division 2 best-of-three finals between the Convergys-2 Blue Devils and the ePerformax Reds.

The Reds sent that series to a one-all standoff after they humbled the Convergys-2 Blue Devils in Game 2, 65-58.

Teleperformance started hot, cooled off in the middle periods before going full throttle in the endgame to seal its return trip to the Finals.

The Vipers, who won Game 1, 56-52, opened a 17-14 lead but got outscored in the middle periods, 17-20, allowing the Stallions to tie the contest at 34 at the end of the third stanza.

But what was once a closed encounter became one-sided contest when Teleperformance went berserk in the final quarter, sending the Stallions wobbling behind a 27-16 assault.

James Lester Navaja paced the Vipers with 13 points, Ryan Veloso, Cecilio Jam Jr. Kevin Clark Navaja, Dean Junber Escalon and Gamaliel Bas added a combined 45 points.

Niel Tiempo topped the Joph Cleopas-coached Stallions with 12 markers, while Franco Angelo Cipriano added 10.

The Reds also banked on a solid endgame kick to stay in contention, turning a 31-32 halftime deficit into a 42-40 lead, going into the fourth.
Avenging their 55-71 loss in Game 1, the Reds finished off the Blue Devils with a 23-18 attack in the final quarter.

Robert Gilo led the way for the Reds with 23 markers and was backed by Joey Mari De Guzman, who finished with 12.

Clifford Amarado piled up 17 points and Lourenz Limpangog added 12 markers for Convergys-2, which absorbed just their second loss in the season.