Bogo shares inter-city cagefest leadership

They travelled from the far north but the Bogo Bogoys quashed away their arduous trip as they headed back home with a 94-89 victory over host Cebu City Niños in the resumption of the 1st Cebu Inter-City Cup Basketball Challenge on Friday night at the Poblacion Pardo Gym.

After taking a 44-40 edge at halftime, Noel Balili and Jerome Seno presided over an eight-to-nothing blitz early in the third period to give Bogo its biggest lead at 15 points, 66-51.

Paul “Butong” Villanueva ended Cebu’s scoring drought with a three-point play to trim the deficit, 54-66, at the 1:22 mark of the third period.

Literally rising from the grave after Bogo’s Chris Lubon was whistled for a technical foul for excessive complaining, the Niños slowly crawled back to contention and threatened at 75-79 with still 3:24 left in the contest.

Time, however, was not on the Niños’ side and the Bogoys proceeded to wrap up the match by hitting the insurance free throws.

Jun Ace Ursal topped Bogo with 29 points, while Seno tossed in 12 of his 23 markers in the second period that towed the Bogoys to a four-point lead at the end of the first half.

The Niños started with a 7-0 bang, but Ursal went on to score all the first 13 points of Bogoys, who just trailed by three, 18-21, after the first 10 minutes of play.

Villanueva paced Cebu with 24 points followed by Allen Abayata with 22.

With the win, Bogo joined the Lapu-Lapu Chiefs atop the leaderboard with similar 4-1 win-loss record, while Cebu City fell to 1-1 in the tournament backstopped by  Nature’s Spring, CFL Focus, Omega Pain Killer, Efficascent Oil, Casino Rubbing Alcohol, Yayoy’s Grill, M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala, Hotel Fortuna, and Cebu La Fortuna Bakery.

The scores

Bogo (94) - Ursal 29, Seno 23, Balili 17, Lubon 7, Pedroza 4, Asingua 4, Batuigas 3, Valenzuela 3, Tudtud 2

Cebu (89) - Villanueva 24, Abayata 22, L. Maraño 9, Abellanosa 6,Potencioso 6, R. Maraño 5, Tallido 4, Cabo 4

Quarterscores: 18-21; 44-40; 70-59; 94-89 (GGM)