Brillo drops 36 as Mandaue picks fifth straight win; Argao debuts with 29-point victory over Samboan

By Rommel C. Manlosa

KENNETH Brillo has finally came out of his shell as he lead Mandaue City Ballers to a high scoring duel against ASB Balamban, 116-101 in the Bracket A Quarterfinal actions of the Cebu Governor’s Cup 2019 Inter-Cities/Municipalities Basketball Tournament held in Danao City Civic Center Saturday evening.

After having three “unsatisfactory” games, where he fouled out twice, the former University of the Visayas Baby Lancers center finally had a break out game by scoring the game high 36 points, including 25 in the second half to help Mandaue City keep the dangerous Balamban at bay all night long.

Mandaue City came out blazing in the opening quarter as Archie Buscay sank three triples while Paul John Sungahid and Brillo combined for 15 points as the 6^thDistrict champions pulled away with a 33-23 lead after the first quarter.

However, Balamban fought back hard in the second period when Albert John Sacayan caught fire and exploded with 19 points, including five triples, to clip Mandaue’s lead down to three, after a 38-31 shootout.

Mandaue City on the other hand managed to keep its lead basically because of the nine points of Gab Cometa, the eight points of Lemuel Jake Gonzaga and the six points of Sungahid while Jacob Fernandez was the other Balamban player who contributed for the uprising of the 3^rd District runner-ups.

But Balamban failed sustain its fire as Brillo started to assert his dominance in the middle by scoring 14 of Mandaue’s 31 points in the third then added 11 in the fourth to give the Ballers its second win in the quarters and fifth straight since losing its first two games.

Aside from Brillo’s 36, Cometa added 23, Sungahid contributed 15 before fouling out and Buscay and Gonzaga finished with 14 points each for the Gary Cortes-mentored Mandaue City. Sacayan topped Balamban with 30 points, Jushoa Gellacone made 24 points and Fernandez had 21 points for the Dave Seblos-coached Balamban.

The Argao Archangels on the other hand debuted in the Quarters with a domineering 94-65 win over Siempre Samboan.

The victory was Argao’s third win over its 2^nd District runner-ups, which suffered another blowout loss since the District Championship last April 6.

This time, Argao’s win was highlighted by holding Samboan to just six points in the entire fourth quarter.

Jimboy Torion lead the Archangels to victory with his 24 points, Darren Lloyd Dayag finished with 17 and Jomari Parantar contributed 16 while John Michael Rosal topped with 14 and Paul Andrew Catipay added with 13 points for Samboan’s second loss in the quarterfinals.

In the main game, Danao City suffered another blow as they bowed down to Team Medellin, 90-88, this time at its own home.

After a good start, Danao City suddenly found its offense conking out and its defense crumbling that allowed the visitor to score 17 more points, 32-15, in the second period with Fritz Saladaga scoring 13 for Medellin.

Justin Mondares tried to spark Danao City’s offense as he scored four triples to help the home team take a 69-67 lead, but Gelmart Umpad sank a triple shortly to help Medellin take back the lead and eventually closed the third period owning a 72-69.

Medellin managed to protect the lead behind another scoring  spurts of Saladaga who had 12 more points in the fourth that helped the visiting team erect a 90-81 lead with 3:07 left in the game. However, that proved to be the last basket of Medellin in the game as Danao City tightened its defense in the final three minutes.

Unfortunately for Danao City, they could only score seven points on its final nine positions. It also took them a minute and 40 seconds to score a basket since coach Edsel Vallena called a time-out to after Saladaga scored the final two points of Medellin.

Saladaga scored the game high 31 points, Gelmart Umpad added 18, Luther Leonardo finished with 15 and Roland Canales contributed 12 points for Medellin’s second win while Mondares topscored for Danao City with 18 points, Ace Rondina scored 17, Ian Benedict Olivar had 11 and Jedsen Robert Diaz tallied 10 points for Danao City’s second loss in the quarters.

Boxscores:

Argao (94) – J. Torion 24, Dayag 17, Parantar 16, C. Torion 9, Kintanar 8, Lastomen 5, Manloloyo 4, Bajenting 3, Saniel 2, Gomez 2, Cabales 2. Samboan (65) – Rosal 14, Catipay 13, Manolong 9, Calaurian 9, Luage 8, Nalo 7, Dinampo 4, Villena 1.

Quarterscores: 33-18; 45-31; 66-59; 94-65.  

Mandaue City (116) – Brillo 36, Cometa 23, Sungahid 15, Gonzaga 14, Buscay 14, Marco 5, Isok 3, de los Angeles 2, Dabon 2, Cabellon 2. Balamban (101) – Sacayan 30, Gellacone 24, Fernandez 21, Sermon 8, Codinera 5, Tapdasan 4, Milan 3, Tapang 2, Pepito 2.

Quarterscores: 33-23; 64-61; 95-83; 116-101.

Medellin (90) – Saladaga 31, G. Umpad 18, Leonard 15, Canales 12, MJ Umpad 5, Banigon 4, Ompoc 3, Remulta 2. Danao City (88) –Mondares 18, Rondina 17, Olivar 11, Diaz 10, Cahigas 9, Bugtai 7, Torralba 4, Montero 3, Sotto 3, Malazarte 2, Jabonete 2, Molina 2.

Quarterscores: 20-23; 52-38; 72-69; 90-88.