Games Tonight Po Hang Gym
6:30 pm BBC vs Talisay
7:45 pm New ST vs Magnolia Nutri-oil

Talisay Basketball Athletic Club and New ST Marketing took the inside track in the race for the two championship berths Monday night with separate victories at the start of the 6th Tan Kek Pin Memorial Cup Basketball Tournament single-round semis at the Po Hang Gym.

Magnolia Nutri-oil crumbled at the free throw line, allowing Talisay to post a tight 108-105 triumph, before Mark Sabusap and Te Espejo keyed New ST Marketing's 93-75 rout of BBC.

The victories will prove crucial for both Talisay and New ST as the semis heads to its second to the last playdate tonight. New ST and Magnolia test each other's mettle at 7:45 p.m., after BBC collides with Talisay.

New ST marketing beats BBC 93-75

Sabusap once again dominated the shaded lane, grabbing rebounds with impunity, while scoring 17 points, most of which came from putbacks in the fourth period that keyed the breakaway.

The diminutive Espejo, who shared Immuvit Player of the Game honors with Sabusap, also had two treys from the corner during New ST's final push.

Leading 65-64 at the end of the third period, BBC was given little room to move by New ST's zone defense in the final quarter, where it was held to just 10 points. The absence of flashy slotman Robert Buñol told heavily on BBC, which failed to contain Sabusap inside the paint.

With Roberto Duran leading the way, BBC opened the game with an 8-0 blast, but Peewee Demonteverde and Vincent Gamboa responded for New ST, which took a 23-21 lead heading into the second period.

Behind Mark Sabusap and Daniel Chiu, the New ST cagers threatened to break the game wide open, seizing a 41-28 buffer, before Archie Sorallo and Rico Cabatu nailed a triple each to keep BBC within striking distance at halftime.

Swingman Joebert Pastias and Bobot Divinagracia joined hands to give BBC a slim lead in the third period, offsetting the production of Mark Binguan, who single-handedly carried New ST Marketing with 14 points.

Demonteverde finished with 17 points, while Gamboa and Espejo added 8 apiece. Pastias had 14 and Divinagracia added 13. Roberto Duran and Rico Cabatu contributed 8 each.

Magnolia tasted its only lead at 83-82 and Talisay took over from there as Joey Caduhada, Immuvit Player of the Game Tonton Belecina, Bryan Alunan and Nonoy Hugnatan joined hands to give TBAC a 99-91 lead with 1:40 left.

Hugnatan later clinched the win by sinking his two free throws that made it 106-100 for Talisay, which drew double-digit numbers from seven players led by Belicina with 15.

Allermo chipped in 14, while Hugnatan, Edgar Junto and Ramil Layan added 12 apiece. Alunan and Caduhada also had 10 points each.

Magnolia was led by Mark Descutibo with 20 points with Warren Alintano contributing 14. Dennis Dinsay and Richard Verayo scored 14 and 9, respectively. *CPT

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