THE Talisay City Aquastars put themselves in prime position for another championship as they rallied in the fourth to take down the Carcar Lechoneros, 97-93, in Game 1 of the best-of-three finals series of the Gullas Cup 2020 at the Carcar Sports Complex on Sunday evening, March 1, 2020.
Down 63-71 heading to the fourth canto, Talisay City went on a tremendous 34-22 run to erase the deficit and take the series-opening win. The Aquastars can clinch the title in Game Two on Friday, March 6, 2020.
Talented left-handed guard Keaton Taburnal led Talisay City’s attack with 24 points, highlighted by five makes from beyond the three-point arc. He added three rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block in a fantastic all-around performance.
Juneckon Balingit added 15 while Clark Ruedas also filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks. Jhaylord Castro tallied 11 points as well as five boards.
Rey Alfeche had 23 points and eight rebounds for Carcar, which is trying to hurdle the very same team that knocked them off in the championship round last year.
Meanwhile, the Sibonga Pillars defeated the Minglanilla Archangels, 96-92, to claim the third place trophy. Wendell Cadampog was unstoppable in that game as he compiled 29 points, seven rebounds, four assists, five steals and three blocks.