CEBU, Philippines - The top seeded New Millennium Hardware '95 and No.5 qualifier Dewfoam '88 got off to flying starts in the semifinal round of the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association's 12th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup last Sunday at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.
Class '95 reaffirmed its dominance over the second-ranked First Family Appliance Circle '96 in convincing fashion, 61-48, while Class '88 eased through a masterful 62-50 victory over the fourth seeded Dimsum Frito 2003.
Dean Dy Teves sparkled with 19 points, while Donald Anthony Ting and Joseph Jigger Arjona scattered 13 and 12 markers, respectively, for Class '95, which used a sizzling offensive in the middle quarters to rip the game apart.
Class '95 led by just a matchstick at the end of the first period, 12-11, but made a 16-8 rally in the second period to post a 28-19 edge at halftime.
Class '95 further mauled Class '96 in the third canto, 21-14, to pad its lead to 16 points, 49-33, going into the final 10-minute of the contest. Class '96 never recovered from thereon.
In the nightcap, Gregorio Aguilar, Jr. fired 21 points and Ricky Yu added 18 points as Class '88 dominated Class 2003 from start to finish.
Trailing by three points at halftime, 21-24, Class '88 retaliated with a 21-11 bang in the third period, then sustained its momentum in the windup to come up with a 12-point romp.
Class '88 guns for its second straight win as it takes on the third seeded Shell '80s of Chester Cokaliong in today's first game at 7:30 pm, right before Class '96 and Class 2003 fight for survival in the main game at 9 pm.
The scores
First game
Class '95 (61) - Dy Teves 19, Ting 13, Arjona 12, Gollon 6, Yu 6, Ho 3, Gue 2
Class '96 (48) - Ang 9, Lariosa 9, Donayre 9, Babor 8, Alinson 4, Go 3, Baron 2, Wang 2, Yu 2
Second game
Class '88 (62) - Aguilar 21, Yu 18, R. Lim 8, Po 5, Ng 4, Yu 4, Villamor 2
Class 2003 (50) - Catipay 21, C. Ciao 9, Ang 7, Delit 6, Cuizon 3, Javier 2, Uy 2 (FREEMAN)