MOALBOAL and Malabuyoc won their quarterfinal games to earn spots in the semifinals of the Calderon Cup 21-Under basketball tournament on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at the Malabuyoc Sports Complex in Malabuyoc, Cebu.
Moalboal, coached by Jaysar Esperat, held off a late comeback by Ginatilan to win, 73-67.
The victory was Moalboal’s fourth win in six games and sent the team to the semifinals, where it will face Dumanjug.
Malabuyoc also advanced after a strong 84-63 win over Ronda. The tournament features teams from eight municipalities in Cebu’s 7th District.
The semifinals will be played on Thursday, April 30, at the Dumanjug Sports Complex. Games start at 6 p.m.
Esperat said facing Dumanjug will be a tough challenge because Moalboal lost to them twice in the elimination round.
Still, he believes his team learned from those defeats.
“In our two losses against Dumanjug, we learned from our mistakes. Hopefully, we can make adjustments in the semifinals,” Esperat said. He added that defense will be their main focus.
Malabuyoc coach Johnfiel Mejo also said his team is ready for its semifinal matchup against Alegria.
The two teams split their elimination-round meetings. Malabuyoc lost their first game on March 21 but bounced back in the second meeting.
“We were tied 1-1 in the elimination round. We lost to them when one of our players got injured, but now we are very prepared,” Mejo said. / JBM