BOLJOON got itself back into contention in Group B after outlasting an undermanned but determined Sibonga, 90-75 in the Mayor Inocentes Cabaron Invitational Inter-town tournament on April 7, 2024 at the Moalboal Covered Court.
Boljoon, which lost its debut to Barili, 89-73, and needed a last-gasp buzzer-beater over Badian, 82-80, is now 2-1 in Group B, trailing Dalaguete (3-0) and idle Samboan (2-0.)
Dalaguete got the hold of the lead in the Group after back-to-back wins over the weekend, beating Sibonga, 95-86, on April 6 and Barili, 72-65, on April 7.
Against a seven-man Sibonga squad that was playing its second straight game in the tournament, Boljoon seemed to cruise to an easy win as it took a 24-12 lead in the first quarter. However, Sibonga turned to Ehman Janson Suarez in the second quarter, outscoring Boljoon 34-20 to take a narrow 46-44 lead at the half.
Suarez, who had 25 points against Dalaguete on April 6, was firing from all cylinders in the second quarter as he tallied an impressive 19 points, including two treys.
However, Boljoon started to break away in the third quarter, turning to Kenjie Gumera and Epoy Caneda in the crucial period to pull away by 10, 69-59.
Caneda finished with 26 points, while Gumera had 15, including nine in the fourth quarter.
On the other hand, Suarez had an impressive 31 points, while Ledesma added 13. Both Suarez and Ledesma also combined for 44 points during their loss to Sibonga on April 6.
In Group A, Dumanjug got its third straight win the easy way after Malabuyoc failed to show up for their game on April 6. Aloguinsan is second at 2-1, while Badian and Ronda share a 1-2 record.
The champion of the tournament will pocket a cool P200,000, while the runner-up gets P150,000. The third and fourth placers get P100,000 and P50,000 each, respectively. /ML