Hope hammers Mapua, enters FCBL semis

MANILA, Philippines - Clint Dolinguez took charge in the second half as defending champion Hope Christian High School demolished Mapua, 76-57, to clinch the first semis berth in the FCBL-Freego Cup at the Buddhacare Gym in Quezon City over the weekend.

Held scoreless in the first quarter, Dolinguez scattered eight points in the third as Hope Christian raced away to several 20-point leads.

Mark Nunez tallied nine points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals for Hope Christian, which improved to 5-1. Nunez went on to cop the Freego Player of the Game award in the event sponsored by Smart.

Far Eastern University, meanwhile, gained a playoff berth for the fourth and last semis seat by trouncing reigning Tiong Lian champion Chiang Kai Shek College, 73-59.

The win improved FEU’s record to 4-2, the same card of Chiang Kai Shek College in the event backed by Hapee Toothpaste, Fruitas Fruit Shake, Nikon Home Appliances, Colt Commercial, Jumbo Plastic Linoleum, Fern-C and Insular Square (Cebu).

In other games, STI notched its third straight win in seven games by downing Ateneo, 73-69, while UST crushed Adamson, 55-36.

Aside from Nunez, also earning Freego Best Player of the Game awards were UST Von Soriano, FEU’s Joshua Aquilon and STI’s Patrick Aquino.