CEBU, Philippines – The Firebulls upended their erstwhile tormentor Poblacion-C, 88-78, to gain a 1-0 upstart in the Inter-Zonal best-of-three finals series of the Mayor Edsel Galeos Cup 2009 summer basketball tournament at the Diosdado Macapagal Sports and Cultural Center in Argao, Cebu.
The Firebulls led by just a hairline at halftime, 42-41, but were able to dictate the tempo of the match in the remaining two quarters using their sizzling fastbreak plays.
Art Camello topscored for Firebulls with 20 points, while Ronie Salazar sank five triples of his 19 points. Ranelo Mamalias, Mark Puerto and Zorro Oyanguren chipped in 41 points combined underscoring their balanced offensive.
Bobby Lopez led Poblacion-C with 20 points.
In the Inter-Town division, Carcar clobbered Boljoon, 97-80, to also draw first blood in their own race-to-2 battle.
Carcar, led by Clifford Bargamento with a game-high 34 points, launched a crippling 26-12 attack in the windup en route to a 17-point demolition of the hapless Boljoon.
Ex-USC Warrior Danny Infantado ably backed up Bargamento with 22 points followed by Kent Florido with 14 points.
Bert Andjura and Resty Getubig topped Boljoon with 18 and 16 points, respectively.
Earlier, Tulic-Lamacan dumped Cabalbotal, 85-71, to bag the third place honors in the Inter-Zonal category.
The scores
First game
Firebulls (88) — Camello 20, R. Salazar 19, R. Mamalias 17, Puerto 14, Oyanguren 10, Papalid 2, Alburo 2, D. Salazar 2, T. Mamalias 2
Poblacion-C (78) — Lopez 20, Materolo 13, Pillaso 12, Tapere 12, Puerto 9, Crodua 5, Figuez 3, Alviso 2, Albarracin 2
Second game
Carcar (97) — Bargamento 34, Infantado 22, Florido 14, Tabar 8, Napolitano 8, Solon 7, Genayas 2, Alcover 2
Boljoon (80) — Andujar 18, R. Getubig 16, Nicanor 10, Tanato 10, Alinbango 8, K. Getubig 6, Sesaldo 4, Antiporta 2, B. Binagatan 2, Medida 2, I. Binagatan 2 – GGM (THE FREEMAN)