THE Dreamscape Lions extended their season with an 81-73 victory over the Fusion BPO Services Dragons in the quarterfinals of the Elite Classic division of the Tanduay Athletics E-Leagues for Basketball Season 15 at the City Sports Club-Cebu basketball court last Sunday, December 8, 2019.
The win meant that the Lions and the Dragons would be figuring in a do-or-die battle for the right to advance to the semifinal stage. Fusion owns a twice-to-beat advantage in this match-up.
Former University of the Visayas Green Lancer Matt Oche and Ralph “The Lion King” Belarmino put up stellar performances to tow Dreamscape to the victory. Oche piled up 18 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks, while Belarmino had 16 points, 11 boards, six steals and five assists.
Lawrence Escanilla added 13 points for the Lions, who never looked back after erecting a 45-38 lead after two quarters of play.
Former University of Southern Philippines Panthers forward Roy Quiachon Jr. led the Dragons with 17 points, while Niño Belande, Jose Laksamana, Janille Bantillan pitched in 15, 14 and 12 markers, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Concentrix Converters won over the Teleperformance Vipers, 69-62, to also keep their title hopes alive. However, the game’s result was placed under protest after it was learned that Concentrix had fielded in a suspended player.
Over in the Evo League division, the Kyocera Frontiers and the Optum Knights moved on to the semifinal stage after they disposed of their respective opponents.
The Frontiers ousted of the Dyninno Jets, 61-54, while the Knights defeated the Fluor Pandas, 61-55.
Matthew Grafilo keyed Kyocera’s big win with 19 points. Junrey Cabarrubias and Ariel Edera were also productive for the Frontiers with 15 and 11, respectively.
Nicole Sultan tallied 13 points and Nicolle Bajarias pitched in 10 as the duo carried the Knights to the best-of-three semifinal round.