5 April 2019
CEBU CITY—The reigning champions Talisay Aquastars took a giant step towards its title-retention bid after they nipped the Minglanilla Aquastars, 97-89, in the First District of the 2019 Cebu Governor’s Cup Under-21 Inter-Cities/Municipalities Basketball Tournament at the Talisay City Sports Complex.
Behind the hot hands of Jay Deiparine, the Aquastars came back from a 13-point first quarter deficit to keep alive their back-to-back championship aspirations and pocket a cash prize of P100,000.
Deiparine fired 29 points to lead Talisay, while Clark Ruedas and Jhaylord Castro pitched in 16 and 13 markers, respectively.
Acer Go paced Minglanilla, the league’s inaugural champion, with 28 points, while Ryzel Gilbuena added 22.
Bagging the Third District crown was Tuburan, which demolished Balamban, 92-71, to bring home the P100,000 cash prize.
Sogod and Danao, on the other hand, arranged a title duel in the Fifth District after they scored separate wins,
Danao blasted Carmen, 96-81, while Sogod nipped San Francisco, 81-70.
Sogod was set to host Danao Friday night, April 5, for the district championship.
Still be played are the championship games in the sixth, seventh and fourth districts.
District champions will advance to the crossover quarterfinal round. The scheduling and bracketing will be finalized in a meeting with league officials and team representatives on April 6.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @burnsports
