ARQ Lapu-Lapu ousts Dumaguete, rolls into Vismin Super Cup semis

CEBU, Philippines —  The ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu City Heroes lit up a scorching rally late in the third period, then overcame a spirited endgame resistance by Dumaguete to send the Warriors packing, 92-76, and advance to the semifinals of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas Vismin Super Cup-Visayas leg last night at the Alcantara Civic Center in Alcantara town southwest of Cebu

Reliable wingman Reed Juntilla exploded for a tournament-high 33 points on top of seven rebounds for ARQ Lapu-Lapu, which will take on next the twice-to-beat KCS Computer Specialist-Mandaue City in the semis on Tuesday, May 4. The winner will challenge the undefeated early finalist MJAS Zenith-Talisay City Aquastars in the best-of-three championship series starting on May 6.

The Warriors of coach Leode Garcia actually started the game with perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the 3-point land behind the hot hands of Mark Doligon, Ronald Roy and Jaybie Mantilla but the Heroes rallied back with finesse to take a hairline 22-21 edge after the first 10 minutes of action.

In the second quarter, the two protagonists figured in a closely-fought battle resulting to five deadlocks

and seven lead changes, the last went in favor of the Warriors at halftime, 42-40, thanks to a buzzer-beating triple by Roy off a nifty assist by Mantilla.

The score was tied for the last time at 58-58 as Rino Berame, Dawn Ochea, Ferdinand Lusdoc and Reed Juntilla connived in a  game-ripping 14-0 blitz to push ARQ Lapu-Lapu ahead by 12 points, 62-50, in the dying seconds of the third canto. Overall, the Heroes handcuffed the Warriors to a paltry two points in the last five minutes of that stretch.

A trey by Monbert Arong to start the fourth period gave the Heroes a comfortable 67-52 advantage. The Warriors chiseled away the huge deficit to threaten at 71-77 on back-to-back tomahawks from beyond the arc by Roy at the final five-minute mark of the contest.

The Warriors closed in for the last time at 75-81 as Berame made two consecutive big shots, then Juntilla capped his game-long brilliance with a 5-0 swing in a knocking 11-1 blow that vaulted ARQ Lapu-Lapu to a 16-point rout.

Ferdinand Lusdoc was the only other double-digit scorer for ARQ Lapu-Lapu with 16 points laced with seven rebounds and five assists for the Heroes, who gained a big boost going into their much awaited semis showdown with KCS-Mandaue.

Roy dropped 30 points while Doligon finished with 18 markers but to no avail as Dumaguete already crashed out of the league’s bubble play.