CPG Bohol crowned VisMin Super Cup champion

ZAMBOANGA – The CPG Bohol Dolphins are the champions of the GlobalPort-VisMin Super Cup.

Late Sunday night, the Dolphins etched their mark in league history by becoming the latest ruler of this regional basketball event after outlasting the upstart OCCCI-Ormoc Sheer Masters, 84-77, in Game Two of their best-of-three title series at the Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum.

John Orbeta played another big game, coming away with 18 points, most of them coming from transition baskets. But it was Jhong Bondoc who started things out, hitting three triples in the first period on his way to finishing with 16 points on top of six rebounds and two steals.

Landry Sanjo, who was brought in as a replacement import two games before the start of the playoffs, added 16 markers and 12 rebounds.

Nikko Panganiban, adjudged as the Finals Most Valuable Player, contributed 12 for the Dolphins, who got 46 inside points, 14 more than their rivals.

Rebounding has been a big story as well in the Dolphins’ domination of the up-and-coming Sheer Masters. Bohol grabbed 61 rebounds compared to 44 of Ormoc, and that resulted to 19 second chance points compared to only six for its counterpart.

Earlier, the VisMin Super awarded Reed Juntilla of the Zamboanga Valientes the highest individual citation in the tournament when he was adjudged as the Best Player of the Conference.

Joining Juntilla, a former PBA player who also won multiple championships in the defunct PBL, are Gabby Espinas and Paul Sanga of the OCCCI-Ormoc Sheer Masters, Shaq Alanes of Macfi-Basilan and Panganiban.

Macfi-Basilan defeated Zamboanga, 75-70, in the battle for third.

CPG Bohol, coached by Edsel Vallena, led by as many as 14 points, 25-11, early in the second period, and appeared to be putting away OCCCI-Ormoc early, but the Sheer Masters were able to draw solid contributions from their bench players, particularly Pari Llagas, who had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, allowing them to get back in the game.

Grenarl Malubay’s basket shoved the Sheer Masters within three, 68-65, with still 7:56 left in regulation, but both teams switched on their defensive mode as neither team was able to score for more than three minutes. Orbeta then scored on another transition basket to break the silence, and the Dolphins held off repeated uprisings of their rivals from there.