Joel, Ezra win debuts in Gen Cup youth

A Joel player goes up for an acrobatic shot against Jonah defenders during the opening game in the youth division of the Genesis Cup last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Joel and Ezra eased their way to victories in the opening day of the youth division of the 5th Genesis Cup Christian Churches Inter-Color Basketball League last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Joel defeated Jonah in the curtain-raiser, 57-44, while Ezra also posted a double-digit win over Haggai in the second match, 71-61.

Jerald Santiago led Ezra to its debut victory after scoring a game-high 24 points. Nathan Borromeo backed him up, adding 16, while eight other Ezra players also hit the board in their 10-point win over Haggai.

Teemo Wang had 20 markers to pace Haggai, which had only seven players gracing the team’s box scores, including Aaron Irog, who tallied 11. Haggai fell behind early and never recovered, as Santiago and Borromeo led Ezra’s offense and they drew enough support from their teammates.

In the first game, Andrew Palino towed Joel to a good start, making 16 markers. Jonah gunner Jethro Cruz had 18 markers on the losing end.

Meanwhile, the weekdays games in the adults division of the Genesis Cup started last Thursday with Gideon and Caleb prevailing in their respective matches.

Gideon downed Jeremiah, 65-48, to improve to a 2-1 record, the same mark the latter has, bringing to four the tied teams for second place. Caleb, which beat Joshua, 63-47, in the second game last week, and idle Ezekiel also own similar 2-1 marks to place second behind the unbeaten Samuel (3-0). The standings were released pending results of last Tuesday’s pair of games (Ezekiel vs Joshua and Jeremiah vs Caleb).

Bradley Demapan had 28 points to lift Gideon to victory over Jeremiah, while Joseph Gatdula was the other double figure scorer for the winning squad. Jeremiah, on the other hand, drew 19 and 17 markers from Isagani Cortez and Michael Cabanas, respectively.

In the second game, Caleb banked on Jo Hernaez, Russell Dequito, Edison Castro, and Gener Lansangan to ease past Joshua. Hernaez had a team-high 19 points, Dequito chipped in 10, while Castro and Lansangan combined for 18 markers.

Mark Puno recorded 13 points for Joshua, which faced a 25-38 deficit at halftime and never made headway in the second half to drop to a 1-2 record.

YOUTH
First Game
Joel 57 — Palino 16, Elchico 14, Ocaya 12, Ocanada 5, Ibanez 4, De Leon 2, Lu, 2, Luke 2.
Jonah 44 — Cruz 18, Cabrera 11, Ponce 6, Bordon 5, Marcelana 2, Wang 2.
Scoring by halves: 34-22, 57-44.

Second Game
Ezra 71 — Santiago 24, Borromeo 16, Sumpay 9, Buno 6, De Leon 5, Hu 5, Jose 2, Guevarra 2, David 2.
Haggai 61 — Wang 20, Irog 11, Del Carmen 9, Alonzo 8, Gonzales 6, Brillo 5, Vergara 2.
Scoring by halves: 37-18, 71-61.

ADULT
First Game
Gideon 65 — Demapan 28, Gatdula 10, Darag 6, Sacdalan 6, Chavez 5, Dalusong 5, Balte 3, De Leon 2.
Jeremiah 58 — Cortez 19, Cabanas 17, Buniag 11, Vergara 5, Gonzaga 4, Conti 2.
Scoring by halves: 34-27, 65-58.

Second Game
Caleb 63 — Hernaez 19, Castro 10, Lansangan 9, Henzon 9, Gabaldon 5, Lizardo 5, Joson 4, Gozon 2.
Joshua 47 — M. Puno 13, Paclibar 11, Omampo 10, Nunez 6, Daluyen 4, N. Puno 4, Cruz 1.
Scoring by halves: 38-25, 63-47.