CEBU - A day after suffering a bad fall against Hong Kong, the visiting CESAFI All-Star RP Team quickly bounced back with a 74-64 drubbing of the Southern California Fukienese Association (SCFA) to advance into the final of the 17th Kung Seung International Invitational Championships at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong.
June Mar Fajardo, the 6-foot-8 beanpole from the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, muscled his way against the solid defense of SCFA cagers to topscore CESAFI with 16 points. He was also a major factor as CESAFI outrebounded SCFA, 50-33.
Fajardo had a better positioning down low and as a result, he was on the receiving end of the nifty assists and drop passes by guards Armand Ponce of the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars and Ard Diango of the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras.
In turn, Ponce and Diango also took part in the offense to finish with 13 and 12 markers, respectively.
Mannie Gabas and Ranulfo Malinao, both of USJ-R Jaguars, chipped in 21 points combined.
After trailing by nine points at halftime, 28-37, SCFA pulled within 56-58 at the end of the third period, but Fajardo and the rest of the CESAFI juggernauts unleashed a strong endgame kick, 16-8, to clinch the seal the win.
Andrew David led the SCFA with 28 points, while Ray Reed, who played the entire 40 minutes, scored 18.
The CESAFI stalwarts face an uphill battle in their title showdown with Hong Kong, the team that demolished them by 19 points last Friday.
The scores
CESAFI All-Star (74) - Fajardo 16, Ponce 13, Diango 12, Gabas 11, Malinao 10, Delfino 4, Lasala 4, Diputado 2, Rogado 2
SFCA (64) -David 28, Reed 18, Rinehart 8, Chuang 4, Esterbrook 2, Aquino 2, Liu 2 Halftime: 48-37 (GGM) (THE FREEMAN)