Charles Pepito (29) of AC Troopers/Eversure loses his balance while defending James Ferraren (23) of EGS Talisay City in their Balamban Fiesta Cup Inter-commercial League at the Mayor Exasperanza Binghay Memorial Sports Complex, Balamban town, west Cebu on Monday evening, September 11, 2023. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former PBA cager Reed Juntilla showed no signs of slowing down after unloading 26 points to lead AC Troopers/Eversure to a 105-97 victory against EGS Talisay in the ongoing 2023 Balamban Fiesta Cup Inter-commercial League at the Mayor Exasperanza Binghay Memorial Sports Complex, Balamban town, west Cebu on Monday evening, September 11, 2023.
Juntilla, one of the most sought-after commercial players in the region, scored three triples in his 26-point outing to log their first win of the tournament.
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The victory improved AC Troopers’ win-loss record to 2-0 to clinch the top spot in the team standings, while EGS dropped to 0-2 (win-loss) card in the tournament that served as one of the town’s highlights for its annual fiesta.
During the game, the AC Troopers started off to a hot start after their 8-0 blitz to establish an 11-point cushion.
However, CIT-U Wildcat Jim Taala and former UV Green Lancer Tristan Albina nailed back-to-back threes for EGS which pulled them within striking range against AC Troopers.
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Not to be outfought, AC Troopers of head coach Dondon Coloscos retaliated with their own scoring run to keep them leading on a wide margin through the efforts of Juntilla, Harold Cincoflores, Adrian Lao, and Charles Pepito.
AC Troopers went on to maintain their lead to seal their second win of the tournament. Charles Pepito contributed a double-double game of 16 points and 10 rebounds for AC Troopers, while Taala had 13 points and Albina with 11 for EGS’ losing efforts.
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In the first game, the Good Shepherd Toledo City escaped K&L Marketing-Naga City, 105-97.
Bigman Rino Berame tallied 24 points while ex-UC Webmaster Luigi Gabisan and Joshua dela Cerna chipped in 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Gladz Ygay had 24 points for K&L, while Steve Castro and Ian Ortega each scored 18 points in their loss.
Good Shepherd led as many as 25 points, 75-50 in the second half, but K&L fought back in the final period. However, their short burst didn’t last long, especially in the final stretch of the game.
On the other hand, Good Shepherd and AC Troopers will square off tomorrow, Wednesday, September 13, to determine the solo leader of the tournament, while K&L can end their losing spell by playing against Tuburan Coffee in the main game.
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