Samboan goes 2-0 in Cabaron Cup

CEBU, Philippines — Samboan leaned on the brilliance of Raphael Charles Dinampo and Miaco Gelacio for back-to-back wins in the cash-rich Mayor Inocentes Cabaron Inter-Town Invitational  Basketball Tournament over the weekend in Moalboal.

Samboan defeated Alcantara, 98-93, and then outlasted Sibonga, 86-83, to grab the temporary lead in Group B with an immaculate 2-0 slate.

John Kelvin Macasaol and the hot-shooting John Cesar Ypanto combined for 22 points as Alcantara fought to a 53-all score at halftime against Samboan before Dinampo exploded for an impressive 18 points in the second half, including 10 in the final quarter to seal Samboan’s nerve-racking victory.

“Every time we join tournaments like this, we always feel we are the underdog because we usually have the shortest players,” said Samboan team manager Ron Lisondra.

Dinampo led Samboan with 27 points, while Gelacio had 16. On the other hand, Macasaol and Ypanto had 20 points each, with the latter, dropping six threes, while Clent John Ypanto had 15 in Alcantara’s opening day loss.

On Sunday, it was Gelacio’s turn to don the hero’s cap as he exploded for 12 points in the final quarter to help Samboan improve to 2-0. Gelacio finished with 26 points, Carl Rencee Bilagantol nailed 23 and Dinampo added 15 points.

Ehman Suarez led Sibonga with 25, including 10 in the final period, Chuckie Regidor had 16, while Chuckie Montenegro finished with 13 points in a losing cause.

“After beating Sibonga with Suarez in the lineup, my confidence in the players have gone up. However, I can’t say what we’ll happen next because all the teams are good but we will double our effort and intensity and hopefully make it all the way to the semis,” said Lisondra.

Badian also played twice but split its games.

Badian averted a third-quarter collapse to beat Ronda, 81-72, with Reynaldo Flores dropping 22 and Romulo Divinigracia scoring 17. Badian was trailing 58-51 after getting outscored 28-13 in the third quarter before Flores and Divinigracia combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter to hurdle their debut.

It was a different story in their next match as Badian slumped to a 89-84 defeat to Malabuyoc.

Joshua Soria showed the way for Malabuyoc with 27 points, 18 from beyond the arc, while Rudy Casiping and Ericson Rubio chipped in 17 and 14 markers, respectively.

Raphael Aspacio dropped 21 points for Badian, while Divinigracia finished with 18. — (FREEMAN)