ROADSTAR STRUTS STUFF IN CEC CAGING

The Roadstar Piranhas opened their bid in the CEC Almuni caging on a high note by beating BCP Lubricants, 81-67 Lefty forward Michael Balangkig leads all scorers with 25 points

The Roadstar Piranhas Batch 1996/2013 showed why they’re one of the perennial contenders as they posted an 81-67 rout over BCP Lubricants Batch 1995/2005 in the opening game of the Cebu Eastern College (CEC)--Alumni Basketball League 2nd Conference at the CEC Gym yesterday.

The Piranhas fired on all cylinders in the second half as they broke away from a close opening half and posted a 17-point lead, 51-34, early in the third canto.

The lead ballooned to as much as 28 points, 68-40, with about three minutes left in the third.

Lefty forward Michael Balangkig paced the Piranhas with his 25 markers, eight of which were scored in the fourth quarter, when the Lubricants were trying to mount a rally.

The Lubricants were able to trim the gap to 13 points, 6073, with five minutes left in the game, but that was the closest it could get as Balangkig waxed hot with six consecutive points to seal the win.

The Piranhas dictated the game and had a 12-point lead at the half, 42-30, following the 2313 score in the first quarter.

Aside from Balangkig, the Piranhas had four other players scoring in double digits: Bernard Aves, who racked up 14 points, and Dreyfuss Ang, Shaun Wang and Mark Bacho, who had 10 apiece.

The Lubricants were led by Kenneth Ang, who scored 25 points. Dean Dy Teves added 17 for the losing squad, while Philip Lua chipped in 10 markers.

League chairman Anthony Chua said there are 10 competing teams in the tournament, including last conference’s champion Dimsum Frito Batch 1999/ 2003.

“This is our second conference now; the first one was in January. I hope that this sporting event will continue for the CEC Alumni. We encourage the other batches who can read about this to join us on the next conference. The more the better for the league,” said league committee Bronson Peña

The second conference will be a single-round-robin elimination. The Top 8 teams will advance to the quarterfinals, a twice-to-beat advantage will be given to the top four teams.