Cabalen, SIP, Visminda march into UFO semis

Three teams secured semifinal berths after winning their respective bouts over the weekend in the ongoing 2004 UFO-San Miguel Cup, leaving one more slot available for three other teams to fight for.

Powerhouse squads SIP-Verizon and Visminda-Country House each came away with hard-earned victories on Sunday while RP Cabalen-Transameric/EC Comm earned their slot without even breaking a sweat after NMBA-Aliviera faltered by default on Saturday.

In Sunday’s curtain raiser, SIP-Verizon jumped out to an early lead and dominated the rest of the way to stroll to a lopsided 128-77 victory over SMF-Seabridge at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

SIP leaned on the shoulders of Leo factor, Jason Amado, and Peter Mendiola in the first quarter to open with a 25-19 advantage, and continued to fire away with little resistance in the second quarter to close the half with a comfortable 14-point cushion, 55-41.

SMF, however, remained determined and tried to put up a charge at the start of the second half with Leo Itaas and Gary Cayetano combining for 12 points, but their effort was no match for the stronger SIP crew, which racked up another 29 points to lengthen their lead to 25 points with one period remaining.

With outside sniper Brian Flores finding his touch from beyond the three-point arc, SIP headed into the fourth stanza with a commanding 84-59 lead.

Flores would continue to torture SMF in the final quarter, nailing two more bombs from downtown while Factor went back to his scoring ways to torch the net for another 12 points to lead the rout. Guard James Villacursis and G. Garcia also got into the scoring spree and combined for 16 points as SIP closed out the match on a high note with an eye-popping 44-point performance.

Factor went on to finish with a game-high 26 points and 9 rebounds while Mendiola and Flores supported with 20 and 17 points. Garcia, Villacrusis, Amado, and veteran playmaker Rick Alegre also finished in double figures.

For their part, Villacrusis also grabbed 10 rebounds while Alegre had 8 rebounds and 9 assists.

Giovanni Pardinan led SMF with 22 points, 14 of them coming in the final quarter, while Sonny Lerio and Itaas contributed with 13 and 10 points.

In the second game, Visminda-Country House erased an early deficit, then staved off a furious charge by FASA MOVERS to leave with a nail-biting 106-100 victory.

The two were neck-and-neck in the opening minutes, both finding ways to prevent the other from getting too far ahead. FASA, however, behind the duo of Kevin Cequena and Errol Peredo, managed to hold a slim advantage, finishing the first quarter with a 24-20 lead.

The match took a dramatic change in the second period as costly turnovers, key defensive stands by Visminda, and a struggling outside shooting cost the FASA cagers their lead.

With the golden opportunity at hand, Visminda capitalized on FASA’s miscues and stormed ahead courtesy of several open court chances and a solid effort by their big men on the paint. Pesky guard Pando Muleta fueled their surge as he tore the net for 9 points while veteran center Ed Cosino terrorized SMF on the post for 8 points to spearhead Visminda to a 52-39 lead at the break.

Swat king Jawn Joyner also had a huge impact in Visminda’s successful run with 12 points and 2 blocks in the first half.

Action resumed after the break and so did the Visminda dominance. Long-time cager Dado Vistal caught fire from long range and delivered 10 points to his corner—9 coming from downtown.

Peredo, standout guard Andres “Jhun” Estolas, and slotman Jorge De Guzman worked vigorously to pull FASA closer with 7 points each, but Vistal and company responded to FASA’s effort with clutch shots to distance themselves from their opponents. They led 83-64 at the end of the third quarter.

Refusing to hand Visminda the win on a silver platter, FASA unleashed a final charge in the final stanza.

Peredo, Estolas, and Cequena would go berserk and led FASA back into contention. Their desperation effort led them to outscore Visminda, 36-23, in the period, but it just wasn’t quite enough as time expired with Visminda clinging to a 6-point lead.

Cosino dominated the paint the entire night and finished with 24 points and 9 boards while Vistal and Joyner sizzled with 19 points apiece. Vistal also grabbed 11 rebounds. Muleta and Bing Marasigan also added 14 and 11 points.

Estolas and Peredo each shined for 27 points, with Estolas also dishing 9 assists and Peredo taking down 8 rebounds to lead FASA. Cequena and De Guzman also finished with 17 and 14 points while forward Junar Guiab chipped in with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

FIRST GAME

SIP-Verizon 128—Factor 26, Mendiola 20, Flores 17, Garcia 16, Villacrusis 14, Amado 13, Alegre 10, Tamondong 6, Espinosa 6.

SMF-Seabridge 77—Pardinan 22, Lerio 13, Itaas 10, Sison 7, cayetano 6, Delfin 5, Fernandez 4, Banatasa 4, Moises 3, Elayda 2, Demegillo 1.

Scoring by quarters: 25-19, 55-41, 84-59, 128-77,

SECOND GAME

Visminda-Country House 106—Cosino 24, Vistal 19, Joyner 19, Muleta 14, Marasigan 11, Basila 8, De Belen 6, Bicera 5.

FASA-MOVERS 100—Peredo 27, Estolas 27, Cequena 17, De Guzman 14, Guiab 10, Tuquip 3, Peleno 2.

Scoring by quarters: 20-24, 52-39, 83-64, 106-100.