CEBU, Philippines - The Ver-Son Maroons led by skipper Garlan Tapere defeated the highly-favored RCAF of team owner Romeo Faunillan, 72-63, to win the 3rd Norvin Abella Cup basketball tournament last Monday at the Labangon open court.
Ver-Son dominated the entire game without much hustle as they pulled with an early 38-15 lead and never looked back since then despite repeated threats by RCAF.
The best RCAF could muster was to trim down the deficit into a single digit but failed to tie or seize the upperhand in the 40-minute skirmish.
Oliver Sabanal and Ariel Sarucam each fired 13 points for Ver-Son Maroons, while Tapere had 12 points and Dicksim Kintanar added 10.
The tandem of Danrey Baclay and George Alguno paced RCAF with 20 and 14 points, respectively, even as Jong Wilbur chipped with 11 points in a losing effort.
In the preliminary match, the Ponteras Farms scored a lopsided 75-53 win over the J&D squad to settle for third place.
The scores
First game
Ponteras Farm (75) - W. Tabsa 26, A. Tabasa 13, Pilarca 8, Ponteras 6, Sta. Rosa 6, Amores 6, B. Restauro 4, L. Restauro 4, Abella 2
J&D (53) - Bacus 13, Donggon 12, Jabonero 8, Mosqueda 5, Quiijano 4, N. abella 3, Cortes 2, Cabasan 2, Caster 2, D. Abella 2
Second game
Ver-Son (72) - O. Sabanal 13, A. Sarucam 13, G. Tapere 12, Kintanar 10, Dacuyan 7, Mamalias 6, Avila 5, Navarro 4, Terolino 2
RCAF (63) - Baclay 20, alguno 14, Wilbur 11, Tabasa 6, Faunillan 4, E. Tapere 2, Rodriguez 2, G. Sarucam 2, Dayondon 1, Lozarito 1 (FREEMAN NEWS)