MJAS-Talisay Aquastars seal first round sweep in Super Cup

CEBU, Philippines —  The MJAS Zenith-Talisay City Aquastars whipped a furious third-quarter offensive storm to annihilate the Tabogon Voyagers, 85-65, and complete a five-game first round sweep in the Visayas leg of the inaugural Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas Vismin Super Cup season yesterday at the Alcantara Civic Center in Alcantara town southwest of Cebu.

Ahead by only five at halftime, 39-34, the Aquastars suddenly waxed hot after the short break, pummeling the Voyagers in the third quarter, 28-10, to establish a staggering 23-point advantage, 67-44, going into the final 10-minute mark of the contest.

Cebuano perimeter gunner Patrick Cabahug and flashy wingmen Egie Boy Mojica and Jaymar Gimpayan then joined the scoring binge as they accounted for 26 of 28 points in the windup that saw Talisay’s lead ballooned to 28, 83-55.

Cabahug and Mojica nailed 13 markers apiece as MJAS-Talisay firmed up its grip of the solo lead with a perfect 5-0 record.

Gimpayan nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds while big man Jhaymo Eguilos chipped eight points, seven boards, three assists, and three blocks.

Despite playing limited minutes, team captain Paulo Hubalde still came out eight assists to go with four points and four rebounds.

Even though they’re undefeated, MJAS-Talisay head coach Aldrin Morante warned his boys not to flirt with complacency.

“Yung mga teams paghahandaan kami niyan kaya hindi kami puwede magkumpiyansa,” said Morante. “Babalik na rin yung mga players ng ARQ kaya dapat namin paghandaan ‘yun.”

Cebuano wingman Gayford Rodriguez debuted in style with 8 points and five rebounds but his efforts were not enough as the Voyagers fell to 2-3 to end their first round campaign.

Arvie Bringas posted 16 points, 10 boards, two assists, and two steals even while Joemari Lacastesantos had 13 points, four rebounds, and six dimes in a losing cause for the Voyagers, who missed Harold Arboleda for the third straight game due to a nagging knee injury. — EBV