Teleperformance, Convergys, Accenture into E-League semis

CEBU, Philippines - The Teleperformance All-Stars, Convergys Converters and Accenture Sharks eliminated separate foes to advance into the semifinal round of the Elite Classic in the 11th CSCC E-League men's basketball tournament last Sunday at the City Sports Cluib-Cebu gym.

Teleperformance ousted the ePerformax Reds, 82-66, the Converters booted out the Wipro Tigers, 82-77, while Accenture terminated the SSI Warriors, 84-61.

Dean Junber Escalon scored 13 and Ryan Veloso added 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and five blocks in an all-around show for Teleperformance, which launched a fierce 27-12 attack in the second quarter to rip the game apart with a 48-30 advantage at halftime. Eperformax never recovered from there despite a 23-point effort by Esrom Cuizon, Jr.

Sherwin Resilla sparkled with 23 points laced with 16 rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Converters, who banked on a 20-11 rally in the second canto to dictate the pace of the match and eventually outlast the gritty Tigers.

Resilla drew huge support from Franz Dione Dysam with 15 points and Angelo Lucero with a dozen markers on top of eight rebounds. Lourenz Limpangog and Sherwin Anghay also figured prominently with 11 points apiece.

Archie Batua, on the other hand, paced Accenture with 16 points and eight rebounds. Ildefonso Bulangis Jr. added 11 points for the Sharks, who used a devastating 52-33 bomb in the middle quarters to blow away the Warriors.

In the Evo League, the Kyocera Frontiers finished off the Calltek Trojans, 55-45, to set up a best-of-three semifinal showdown against the Telstra-Teletech Boomerangs this weekend. — EBV (FREEMAN)