Teleperformance outshines Accenture in OT; Telstra, Supportsave now 4-0

The Teleperformance All-Stars labored for extra five minutes before fending off the gritty Accenture Sharks, 9181, in the Elite Classic of the 11th CSCC E-League men's basketball tournament last Saturday at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.

With Teleperformance leading by three points, 74-71, with only 4.9 seconds remaining in the regulation period, Accenture had a chance to steal the win when Archie Batua fished a foul after knocking in a game-tying triple, 74-74.

Batua, however, bungled his bonus throw, thus, sending the overtime.

Batua and Accenture paid dearly for that crucial miss as Teleperformance went on to dominate the extra period with authority anchored on a 17-7 blitz.

Dean Junber Escalon finished with 19 points and eight rebounds for Teleperformance. Ryan Veloso added 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Cecilio Sam, Jr. and Kevin Clark Navaja connived for 23 points, 12 rebounds and three steals as Teleperformance bettered its win-loss record to 3-1.

Batua charted a season-high 27 points laced with seven steals and five rebounds, while Ildefonso Bulangis, Jr. netted 23 points, six assists and four rebounds but their efforts went in vain as Accenture suffered its second loss in three games.

In the Evo League, the Telstra-Teletech Boomerangs and Supportsave Dragons coasted to their fourth straight wins in as many starts.

Jaygard Vios dished out 19 points to lift Telstra to a 7366 win over Contact Solutions, while former collegiate standout Niño Belande came up with a monster doubledouble show of 30 points and 19 rebounds to propel Supportsave to an 80-55 rout of the 1&1 Marauders.

Ivan Figuera added 12 points and seven rebounds, Ryan Paul Abordonado chipped in 10 markers for Telstra, which used a 45-32 scoring run in the middle quarters to gain control and eventually win the match.

In the other Evo League duel, The Results Spartans snapped out of their two-game slide after edging out the 24/ 7 Cagers, 75-66. Jade Seno had 24 points and passed out eight assists, while Kevin Gialogo banged in 16 points and seven rebounds for the Spartans, who now hold a 3-2 winloss card.