EARL Matthew Dimol teamed up with Maico Gelacio to lift Samboan over Boljoon, 82-72, in the Mayor Inocentes Cabaron Invitational Inter-town basketball tournament at the Moalboal Covered Court on April 21, 2024.
Samboan improved to 3-1 for solo second in Group B, just behind idle Dalaguete, which is undefeated in four games.
After trailing 20-19 at the end of the first, Gelacio got Samboan slightly ahead in the second period, scoring 13 points on the strength of three treys for a 39-34 lead at half time.
Kenjie Gumera tried to rally Boljoon in the third and hit three treys, but Dimol found his mark in the fourth period, scoring 13 points to seal Samboan’s 10-point win.
Dimol finished with 23 points, while Gelacio had 21. On the other hand, Tope Tanato led Boljoon with 16 points, while Gumera and Epoy Cañeda combined for 24 points for Boljoon.
On the other hand, Barili got solo third and kept its hope of making the knockout stage alive after beating Alcantara, 81-75, to improve to 2-1.
Alcantara, which was again undermanned, took the lead early and even posted a 14-point gap, 28-14 early in the third, but just like in their previous games, the seven-man squad lost steam in the final quarter and lost for the fifth straight time.
Jumil Bayang led Barili with 21, while Jomar Ravanta had 10. On the other hand, John Kevin Macasaol had another solid night for Alcantara with 23, while Randy Canedo had 12.
At 2-1, Barili still has a chance to make the semifinal round but must beat Samboan on April 27 and Sibonga on May 4 to finish the elimination round at 4-1.
The top two squads in the group stage will face off in the crossover round on May 5 with each team allowed to add two reinforcements. The winners of the crossover round will face off for the P200,000 top prize. / ML