Joshua, Jeremiah complete semis cast

Jeremiah’s Michael Cabanas pulls up for a shot against three Daniel defenders during their playoff game in the Genesis Cup last Tuesday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Joshua and Jeremiah eased their way to the semifinals of the adults division of the 5th Genesis Cup Christian Churches Inter-Color Basketball League after dominating their respective foes last Tuesday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The seventh-seeded Joshua took the third semis berth and joined early Final Four qualifiers Isaiah and Ezekiel following an 83-67 upset over the second-ranked Gideon in the first game. Jeremiah got the fourth and last semis ticket after a similar double-digit win over Daniel, 71-59.

Michael Cabanas towed Jeremiah to a Final Four stint after scoring a game-high 27 points. He broke into twin digits early, making 10 as Jeremiah built a promising 30-15 advantage, going into the last three minutes of the opening half.

A 14-4 windup by Daniel, who got 4 points apiece from Marlon Ibanez, Jonathan Ibajan, and Lawrence Borja in that run, kept the team in the game at halftime, 29-35. However, Cabanas and company got back into the grove in the second half en route to the easy win.

In the first game, Joshua was on target from downtown to stun Gideon, which finished the regular season with a 5-2 record against the former’s 2-5 mark.

Joshua knocked in five triples in the first half to zoom to a 48-35 advantage. Arvin Daluyen drilled three of them, while Mark Puno and Ambet Omampo made one each.

Omampo added two more, while Puno capped Joshua’s long-game dominance of Gideon with his second triple in the match to lead Joshua with his 22 points. Daluyen chipped in 21, while three other Joshua players scored in twin digits to eliminate Gideon. Omampo contributed 13, while Jay Nunag and Alain Nunez tallied 11 and 10, respectively. Rey Darag had 22 markers to pace Gideon, which only hit two triples in the quarterfinal match.

Meanwhile, Joshua and Jeremiah will square off in the second semifinals game tonight at 8pm, while the other Final Four pairing featuring Isaiah and Ezekiel will be played at 6:30pm.

First Game
Joshua 83 — M. Puno 22, Daluyen 21, Omampo 13, Nunag 11, Nunez 10, Paclibar 6.
Gideon 67 — Darag 33, De Leon 12, Balte 9, Dalusung 7, Perez 6, Gatdula 6, Sacdalan 5.
Scoring by halves: 48-35, 83-67.

Second Game
Jeremiah 71 — Cabanas 27, Conti 11, Buniag 9, Fatialofa 9, Cortez 8, Vergara 7.
Daniel 59 — Borja 17, Ibanez 16, Ibajan 14, Morales 10, Deang 2.
Scoring by halves: 35-29, 71-59.