THE KCS Lapu-Lapu put an end to the unbeaten streak of Journey to Recovery (JTR) as they pulled off a 94-80 win in the Cebu City Mayor Edgar Labella Christmas Inter-Commercial Basketball League at the Cebu City Sports Institute on Tuesday evening, December 17, 2019.
After going up by six after the first canto, KCS poured it on the second canto and outscored JTR, 25-17, to raise their lead up to double-figures, 51-37. They kept that margin intact in the entire second half to nab the victory in the weeklong pocket tournament that is featuring some of the biggest names in local commercial basketball.
University of the Visayas standout Ted Saga led the way for KCS with 18 points and seven rebounds while his Green Lancers teammate, Melvin Butohan, helped out with 16 points and eight rebounds. EJ Conahap, Joemel Baribe and Eleazar Armecin added 10 markers each.
Steve Castro and Jayson Balabag scored 18 points apiece for JTR, which suffered its first loss in three games.
In other matches, Fighter 50 Wine snatched its third win in a row with an 86-79 win over the SG ARQ Builders. Fighter got off to a sluggish start and trailed by eight, 16-24, after the first canto. However, the team’s leaders led by cagey veterans Dondon Hontiveros and Marvin Hayes helped get them back on track to grab the upper hand, 41-39, at halftime.
Fighter kept on going and established a 69-56 lead in the third and never looked back to bring their win-loss record up to 3-0. Hayes continued his brilliance in this tournament as he piled up 29 points and 10 rebounds. Far Eastern University standout Royce Alforque had 12 points, five boards, three assists and three steals while Hontiveros, the Cebuano basketball legend, added 10.
Meanwhile, ASPA Frameworks came away with an easy 71-58 win over the Siargao Wave Riders. UV wingman Jiesel Tarrosa led ASPA with 21 points and seven boards for the team’s second win in three games.