USJ-R/Bibbo Hotdog and UC/Aspac Bank chalked up contrasting victories against separate rivals to arrange a best-of-three showdown for the Partner’s Cup title starting February 3 at the Cebu Coliseum.
The original venue for the championship was Mandaue Sports and Cultural Center but Partner’s Cup organizers were able to close a deal with Cebu Coliseum.
UC-Aspac Bank squandered a 75-52 third period lead but was able to repulse a last ditch rally of DBTC/Unilab-Alaxan to earn a 107-106 victory.
Again, Jun Mar Fajardo led UC’s attack with 32 points and had ample help from Kelvin Juliane and Allain Abellanosa who both finished with 16 points.
Jeford Aldave, who single-handedly led DBTC’s comeback in the fourth quarter, finished with 20 points with Joseph Villaver and Celseo Colegado Jr. chipping in 16 points apiece and Rudolfo Enterina Jr. adding 15 points.
In the second game, USJ-R dominated CIT-Metro Gaisano 93-72. The game was only close in the first few minutes and as the game went on it was evident that CIT has no answer for the firepower of Gudez, Justiniani, Ponce and Villahermosa. The foursome scored a total of 55 points among them.
Jerry Jaca and ex-pro Gilbert Demape paced CIT with 30 and 15 markers, respectively.
The scores:
First Game:
UC/Aspac Bank (107)- Fajardo 32, Abellanosa 16, Juliane 16, Ducay 11, Canceran 9, Agas 8, Abatayo 8, Abella 6, Connors 2, Luceño 2
DBTC/Unilab-Alaxan (106)-Aldave 20, Villaver 16, Colegado 16, Enterina 15, Sasuman 11, Baring 9, Oberes 7, Caballero 6, Delos Santos 2, Añagap 2, Apura 2
Second Game:
USJ-R/Bibbo Hotdog (93)- Gudez 17, Justiniani 14, Ponce 12, Villahermosa 12, Duran 7, Pogoy 7, Hatague 6, Malinao 6, Bibera 5, Pateño 4, Soliman 4, Gabas 2
CIT/Metro Gaisano (72)-Jaca 30, Demape 15, Abobo 11, Reyes 7, Resilla 6, Cañete 2, Capaning 1