Kenneth Bono starred for the Moneymen for the second straight game, scoring 17 points and pulling down nine rebounds as Cebuana Lhuillier tied idle Burger King at 2-0.
The 6-foot-5 UAAP MVP also had four assists to highlight the team’s fluid game that saw the Moneymen get off to a hot start and end a two-game losing run to the Super Sealers dating back to the Silver Cup.
In the second game, Jason Castro came through with a performance worthy of his MVP status as defending champion Harbour Centre downed Dazz ‘Sang Patak, 81-78.
The 5-foot-9 Castro topscored for the Batang Pier with 22 points on top of 10 assists, including one that led to Chad Alonzo’s three-point play for an 80-76 lead, barely 67 ticks left.
"Hindi na shy si Jason ngayon unlike in our first game. He attacked as often as he can," said coach Jorge Gallent.
Castro even outshone Reed Juntilla who was held tojust 14 points, a far cry from his 27-point performance in the team victory over Toyota Balintawak.
"It was a collective team effort that’s why I’m happy with this win. Even Kenneth shared the ball each time he found an open man," said coach Luigi Trillo.
"Still, we have to work more on our killer’s instinct."
Actually, it was the first back-to-back wins for the Moneymen since joining the league last conference but Trillo refused to comment whether it was a sign of some good things to come for the team.
"It’s still too early to tell how far we can go in this tournament," said Trillo who also got 11 points from veteran Eric dela Cuesta.
Two harmless gift shots by Dela Cuesta with still 3:58 left in the first quarter turned out to be what the Moneymen needed as they exploded for 15 straight points for a commanding 29-10 advantage.
The Moneymen posted their biggest lead at 53-29 at halftime as Dela Cuesta beat the buzzer with a huge trey. They were never threatened from there on as the team’s shock troopers also delivered.
So impressive was Cebuana’s offensive plays that it posted 23 assists compared to Sista’s 11. They also outrebounded the Super Sealers, 42-33, and shot better from the field, making 27-of-67 tries for 40 percent.
Comebacking Noy Javier paced the Super Sealers with 22 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the three-point zone.