ALOGUINSAN fought itself back into contention with back-to-back wins while Boljoon showed its never-say-die spirit in the 2nd Mayor Inocentes Cabaron Inter-town invitational tournament at the Moalboal Covered Court on Saturday, March 23, 2024.
After losing to Dumanjug, 85-75, in its debut, Aloguinsan leaned on the scoring prowess of Andre Caminos Cuizon in their comeback win against Argao, 93-91, and in their 72-60 victory over Badian to improve to 2-1 in Group A.
Trailing Argao 48-42 at halftime, Cuizon teamed up with Jan Debutac and Reggie Cuerda for their comeback win. Cuizon finished with a game-high 22 points, while Debutac and Cuerda had 17 each.
On Sunday, March 24, Aloguinsan leaned on Debutac for an easy 72-60 win over Badian, finishing with 17 points including three treys.
Badian dropped to 1-2, while Argao is at 0-1.
On the other hand, a resolute Boljoon refused to die and nabbed a buzzer-beater 82-80 win over an undermanned but determined Alcantara to improve to 2-0 in their group.
With only seven players during the game, Alcantara used its manpower effectively, turning to John Kelvin Macasaol and JC Ypanto to stay ahead.
Trailing 60-53 going into the final period, Boljoon slowly chipped away the lead thanks to Kenjie Gumera and Epoy Caneda, who combined for 19 points in the final period.
Alcantara still had a chance to win but Rutchen Jay Libato missed both free throws in the final 12 seconds. Boljoon got the rebound and with no timeout left, rushed the ball up the court to an open Gumera.
Gumero fired a three and missed, but the rebound landed on him and he banked a game-winning three while getting fouled from the behind as time expired.
Gumera finished with 22 points and earned Player of the Game honors, while Caneda added 21. On the other hand, Macasaol and Ypanto had 19 and 18 respectively, while Zairo Lambo and Libato had 12 each.
Boljoon is now 1-1, while Alcantara dropped its third straight game.
Meanwhile, ex-pro Jojo Tangkay led Dumanjug with 28 points while Nalos Jr had 18 in Dumanjug’s 103-85 win over Ronda. The game was close only until the first half as Dumanjug pulled away in the third with Tangkay dropping 13 points in the breakaway period.
Dumanjug is now a perfect 2-0 and is one of the favorites to win the P200,000 top prize. / ML