Visminda cruises to seventh straight win

Defending champion Visminda-Tambayan/Nel Atalig cruised to its seventh straight win and kept its unbeaten record intact with another impressive performance in the Budweiser-Coca Cola 6th UFO Inter-Organizational Basketball League Sunday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Visminda received strong resistance in the first 10 minutes as Bibak-Island Card put up a good fight, but the defending champions kicked into turbo mode, left their opponents behind, and strolled to a 108-88 victory.

Bibak’s Gilbert Miranda played well in the opening quarter and was a big reason why his team was able to keep pace with Visminda. Miranda swooshed a couple of triples and had 12 points, helping Bibak keep within four points heading into the second period, 22-26.

Visminda, however, was not happy being within striking distance and decided to kicked their game up a notch. The team matched their opening offensive performance with another 26 points, but got the job done on defense as they limited Bibak to 18 points to pad their lead to 12 at the break, 52-40.

The lead grew slowly as Visminda closed the third stanza ahead by 15 points, 75-60, and added another five points to the difference by outscoring Bibak, 33-28, in the fourth quarter for the 20-point victory margin.

Veterans Jorge De Guzman and Ed Cosino led Visminda with 21 and 20 points while Lester Babauta and Ronnel Gamboa supported with 14 and 12 points.

Miranda led all scorers with 24 points while John Padolina added 16 points. Amorsolo Casabuena and Robert Sanciangco had 12 points apiece while Francis Ardales chipped in 10 points in a losing cause.

In the second game, Cavite-Country House had six players finish in double figures and defeated SMF-Shell, 112-98.

Both teams fired up balanced attacks in the first period, with Cavite pushing ahead for a slim 24-21 lead.

Bernard Montano then fueled a second quarter run that widened the lead as he connected for a bomb from downtown and had nine points, sparking a 27-point charge that enabled the team to take a 51-41 lead into halftime.

SMF remained determined and inched closer in the third behind the guns of Sonny Lerio and Ernie Moses, who heated up for 10 points apiece to pull their team within eight points, 69-77, but the Shell team ran out of gas in the final minutes and was not able to close in before the final buzzer sounded.

Montano and Randy Arconado had 22 and 21 points, Joy Dayrit and Chris Domingo pumped in 18 and 16 points, and Rommel Olayres and Kevin Aldan punched in 15 and 10 points to lead Cavite.

Leriod and Gary Cayetano paced SMF with 27 and 21 points while Leo Itaas and Moses finished with 18 and 15 points.

FIRST GAME

Visminda 108 – De Guzman 21, Cosino 20, Babauta 14, R. Gamboa 12, Peredo 9, Joyner 9, De Belen 8, Uy 6, Muleta 4.

Bibak 88 – Miranda 24, Padolina 16, Sanciangco 12, Casabuena 12, Ardales 10, Rodillo 4, Pacheco 4, Miguel 4, Ong 2.

Scoring by quarters: 26-22, 52-40, 75-60, 108-88.

Referees: Noel Delos Santos and Manny Sitchon.

SECOND GAME

Cavite 112 – Montano 22, Arconado 21, J. Dayrit 18, Domingo 16, Olayres 15, Aldan 10, Tolentino 5, Vega 3, Manabat 2.

SMF 98 – Lerio 28, Cayetano 21, Itaas 18, Moses 15, M. Tagle 6, Sison 5, Demegillo 2, A. Tagle 2, Pardinan 2.

Scoring by quarters: 24-21, 51-41, 77-69, 112-98.

Referees: Dado Vistal and Arnold Mesa.