USJ-R beats UC; goes for 2nd title
The USJ-R-Bibbo Hotdog stymied a fiery second half rally by the UC-Aspac Bank with timely hits from the three-point land to take Game 1 with a solid 109-101 victory in their best-of-three title series in the Reinforced Partners Cup Tuesday night at the
Games tomorrow (Cebu Coliseum)
The USJ-R/Bibbo Hotdog shoots for the sweep in tomorrow’s Game 2 and is just a game away from a second straight title in less than two weeks.
Luther Luke Justiniani starred anew for USJ-R as he hit four of the team’s eight triples, including three in the fourth quarter, which stopped a spirited UC rally.
USJ-R led 67-51 in the third canto but Jared Kane Abatayo presided over a 21-8 UC rally to close the gap 73-75.
The crowd was on their feet when UC finally knotted the score at 75 with a bucket by Allen Abellanosa. UC, however, couldn’t make the go-ahead basket and committed two passing errors that Armand Ponce converted into four points to give USJ-R a 79-75 advantage, with more than nine minutes left in the game.
After that, Justiniani took over the game and went on to score 24 points. Gudez, who hit a triple for USJ-R, scored 20 points while Delfino had 14.
Jun Mar Fajardo, the 6’7” slotman of UC showed up with 37 points but fouled out. Without his hulking presence in the paint, USJ-R had an easier time. Fajardo was a tower in defense and blocked five shots, including two on Delfino in the first quarter. Miguelito Ducay, the other center of UC, also hit the showers.
Abatayo scored 14 points for UC while Abellanosa and Canceran had 14 and 10 points, respectively.
This is the third time USJ-R defeated UC in the tournament and could bring its winning streak to 17 games if they win tomorrow.
Also seeking a sweep is DBTC-Unilab Alaxan who battles CIT-Metro Gaisano in Game 2 of the series for third. DBTC came from behind, two nights, to beat CIT-Metro Gaisano 74-71.
The scores:
USJ-R/Bibbo Hotdog (109) -Justiniani 24, Gudez 24, Delfino 14, Ponce 9, Hatague 9, Gabas 8, Villahermosa 8, Bibera 4, Malinao 2, Pateño
UC/Aspac Bank (101) -Fajardo 37, Abatayo 14, Abellanosa 14, Canceran 10, Abella 7, Ducay 6, Juliane 5, Espinoza 2, Agas 2 Halftime: 53-39
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