Dumanjug, Dalaguete stay on top

DUMANJUG and Dalaguete solidified their hold of the top spot of their groups after bagging their fourth straight win in Mayor Inocentes Cabaron Invitational Basketball Tournament at the Moalboal covered court last April 13 and 14, 2024.

Dumanjug, which won its last game against Malabuyoc via forfeiture, defeated a gritty Argao, 94-84, with Joseph Arth Nalos pouring a game-high 34 points.

“The players just worked hard and they followed the game plan of coach Nilo Quirante,” said Christopher Eugenio Co, the secretary of the Dumanjug Sports Committee and a member of the coaching staff.

Joseph Arth, along with brother Joseph Airo and Jojo Tangkay conspired for 24 points in a strong first quarter start for Dumanjug as they took a 31-19 lead.

However, Argao came alive in the second half, limiting Dumanjug to just 11 points while scoring 28 of their own to take a 47-42 lead at the half.

Jomari Parantar, Kerby John Cahilig, and Kenshin Pantinople combined for 21 points in that second-quarter run as Argao showed they were ready to make the pedigreed Dumanjug squad fight for every point.

“Argao is also a very good team. They are also consistent with their outside shooting. It was just fortunate that coach Quirante made the right adjustments in the third period and we recovered,” said Co.

In the third, the Nalos brothers took over again, combining for 21 points as Dumanjug outscored Argao, 27-15 to regain the lead.

Joseph Art finished with 34 points, while Joseph Airo had 19 and ex-pro Tangkay had 16.

On the other hand, Parantar had 19 points for Argao, which fell to 0-2.

Meanwhile, Dalaguete won the battle of unbeaten squads, 91-69, to hand Samboan its first loss.

After a 21-21 deadlock in the first, Dalaguete turned to Raffy Benson and Mark Delgado in the second quarter for a 52-38 lead. Delgado finished with 22 points, while Benson had 18 as Dalaguete improved to 4-0 and could make it 5-0 if it wins its final assignment against Boljoon on April 28.

Samboan, which dropped to a tie with Boljoon at 2-1, was led by Maico Gelacio, who had 18 points. Samboan can still finish second if it beats Boljoon on April 21 and Barili on April 27. / ML