ALCANTARA—The MJAS Zenith-Talisay City Aquastars completed a sweep of the first round of eliminations with a convincing 85-65 rout of the Tabogon Voyagers in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup on Tuesday afternoon at the Alcantara Civic Center in Alcantara, Cebu.
The Voyagers were within striking distance as they trailed by just five, 34-39, at halftime. However, the Aquastars flipped a switch and took their game to another level in the third, outscoring the Voyagers 28-10 to open a huge 23-point lead, 67-44, heading to the final canto.
Perimeter marksman Patrick Jan Cabahug and athletic wingmen Egie Boy Mojica and Jaymar Gimpayan were especially lethal during that stretch as they accounted for a whopping 26 of the team’s 28 points as the Aquastars led by as much as 28 and never looked back en route to logging in their fifth win in as many games.
Cabahug and Mojica led the team with 13 points each. Gimpayan almost had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds while big man Jhaymo Eguilos added eight points, seven boards, three assists and three blocked shots.
With the team being so dominant, skipper Paulo Hubalde played limited minutes but still had eight assists to go with four points and four rebounds.
Cebuano wingman Gayford Rodriguez debuted in style for Tabogon as the former Rain or Shine draft pick had 18 points and five rebounds. However, it wasn’t enough as the Voyagers dropped to 2-3 at the end of their first round campaign.
Arvie Bringas contributed 16 points, 10 boards, two assists and two steals even as Joemari Lacastesantos had 13 points, four rebounds and six dimes.
THE SCORES:
Talisay (85) Cabahug 13, Mojica 13, Gimpayan 9, Eguilos 8, Moralde 7, dela Cerna 6, Villafranca 4, Hubalde 4, Albina 3, Alvarez 3, Santos 2, Menina 2, Ugsang 2, Cuyos 0
Tabogon (65) Rodriguez 18, Bringas 16, Lacastesantos 13, Delos Reyes 5, Orquina 3, Vitug 3, De Ocampo 3, Sombero 2, Bersabal 2
Quarterscores: 23-13, 39-34, 67-44
(JNP)