Talisay cruises to Governor’s Cup finals

CEBU, Philippines —  The Talisay City Aquastars moved one step closer towards defending their throne after they sank the Balamban Shipbuilders, 91-75, in their crossover semifinal match in the 2019 Governor’s Cup Inter-Cities and Municipalities Under 21 Developmental Basketball Tournament last Tuesday night at the full-packed Talisay City Sports Complex.

They fought sans All-Star guard Jay Deparine who served an automatic one-game suspension after being ejected in their previous game for a punching foul but the Aquastars showed great depth in manpower on the way to punch the first finals ticket.

Talisay will face next the winner of the other semis duel between the Mandaue City Ballers and the Minglanilla Archangels which was still being played as of this writing last night at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.

The Aquastars actually had a lukewarm start resulting to an early 19-26 deficit but slowly picked up their rhythm in the second quarter to pull within just a hairline at halftime, 39-40.

Inspired by the wild cheers of their fans, the Aquastars further revved up their offensive engine in the final half to thrash the Shipbuilders by 16 points when the dust settled.

Keaton Taburnal and Clark Louis Ruedas paced Talisay with 19 points apiece, Gerald Inigo chipped in 15 markers, while Kendrick Abarquez and Elmer Villabrille tallied 22 points in between them.

Rickyboy Timosa topped Balamban with 21 points while Joshua Gellacone scored 18 in a losing effort. - EBV