Ghassemi, Lo set a historic triple-double as Core Pacific rolls into SHAABAA semis

CEBU, Philippines — Afshin Ghassemi produced a historic 47-point triple-double as the twice-to-beat Core Pacific hammered the 2K Cares, 128-82, to advance to the Division A semifinals of the Sacred Heart Ateneo Alumni Basketball Athletic Association (SHAABAA) Season 29 last Sunday, June 14, at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles Arena in Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City.

Ghassemi, who shot an efficient 21-of-34 from the field including three conversions from beyond the arc, also had 16 rebounds and 11 assists in Core Pacific’s wire-to-wire victory that dragged them to best-of-three semis clash with ARQ Batch 2001.

Joseph Lo added 23 points, 21 rebounds and 11 assists, perfectly complementing Ghassemi’s all- around effort as they became the first teammates in SHAABAA’s 31-year history to record a triple-double in the same game.

Interestingly, all six players fielded by coach BJ Murillo cracked double figures resulting in their 46-point obliteration of 2K Cares.

Jeremy Huang tallied 23 points with five rebounds, six assists, four steals, and one block, while Ray Maquilan chipped in 15 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Benedict Chua finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists while Jun Lim contributed 10 points, two rebounds, and a steal for Core Pacific, which led by as much as 47 points,120-73, late in the lopsided contest.

Hanzel Uy paced 2K Cares with 39 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists , and three steals while Mark Avila cashed in 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a losing effort.

On the other hand, Batch 2002 lived to fight for another day after escaping Big Three Pizza Batch 1996 with a 80-78 win.

Ryan Li showed the way for Batch 2002 with 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists and a steal. He was backed by Edmund Gaisano with 18 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal and Erick Jon Lim with 13 points, three rebounds, and one assist.

Serg Go Bui chalked up a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Roderick Mangubat and Andrew Po connived for 27 points to no avail as Batch 1996 missed its first shot at the Final Four. They will make another attempt in a sudden-death match against Batch 2002 on Sunday, June 21. — (FREEMAN)