Prime Asia gains automatic spot in Partner's Cup semis

CEBU, Philippines - The Prime Asia-UV Lancers literally pulverized Gaisano Capital Tisa-UC Webmasters into smithereens, 109-74, at the end of the double round elimination in the 6th CESAFI Partner's Cup men's basketball tournament last Tuesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

For topping the classification phase with a 7-1 win-loss record, Prime Asia Lending of coach Felix Belano, Jr. gained outright entry into the semifinal round.

In the quarterfinals, the remaining four teams will undergo another single round robin series to determine their placings heading into the next level.

The team with the worst record will be booted out, while the three survivors will join Prime Asia to the semis.

Prime Asia used a blistering 37-12 run in the second period to break the game wide open at halftime, 56-32. The UV Lancers-manned squad dealt Gaisano Tisa with another crushing 38-15 blow in the third canto to further rip the game apart.

So hot on the offensive end that Prime Asia knocked in a season-high 14 triples translated into 42 points. Even Rene Jun Saycon and Wowie Escocio, who both play center/forward positions, had the luxury of drilling in three 3-pointers combined.

Cris Perolino fired four treys of his team-high 16 points, while Phil Mercader and John Abad canned a total of six triples as they finished with 14 markers apiece. Saycon chipped in 12 points.

It was actually a battle royale from beyond the arc as Gaisano Tisa sank a total of 10 treys, three each from Arvin Kim Gomez and rookies Noel Villanueva and Alfrancis Tamsi.

Tamsi, a promising hardcourt sentinel from Bohol, finished with 15 points, but it was Gil Wagas who topscored with 20 points for Gaisano Tisa, which crashed to the bottom of the standings with a 2-6 win-loss card.

The scores

Prime Asia-UV (109) - Perolino 16, Mercader 14, Abad 14, Saycon 12, Cabanero 9, Codilla 9, Escocio 6, Calo 6, Arong 6, Avillanoza 4, Kadir 4, Mendoza 3, Oktubre 2

Gaisano Tisa-UC (74) - Wagas 20, Tamsi 15, Villanueva 11, Gomez 9, Auditor 8, Heruela 6, Quintao 5, Cabahug 4, Niones 4, Cueva 3, Mohammad 2, Cabrera 2

Halftime: 56-32 (THE FREEMAN)