30 April 2019
CEBU CITY—The defending champions Talisay City Aquastars will contend for the crown anew after they earned a return trip to the finals following a 91-75 win over Balamban in their do-or-die semifinal duel of the 2019 Governor’s Cup Inter-Cities/Municipalities Basketball Tournament last Tuesday, April 30, at the Talisay City Sports Complex.
The Aquastars played without their top gun Jay Deiparine, who sat out the crucial match to serve a one-game suspension that was slapped against him for committing a disqualifying foul in the team’s last outing.
Deiparine’s absence was heavily felt by Talisay early as it trailed by as many as 10 points in the opening period.
Balamban went on to end the first canto with a 26-19 edge but Talisay slowly got into rhythm and trimmed the deficit to just one at the bend, 39-40.
The Aquastars suddenly caught fire and didn’t look back when they staged a 24-14 attack to seize control of the match.
Keaton Taburnal paced Talisay with 19 points, Clark Ruedas added 19, while Genald Inigo pitched in 15.
Balamban was led by Rickyboy Timosa with 21 points, while Joshua Gellacone pitched in 18.
Talisay will next play the winner in the other semis duel between Mandaue and former champion Minglanilla.
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